United Brethren Methodist Church

The first congregation of the United Brethren in Christ in Kansas Territory and one of the first congregations established west of the Kansas-Missouri border in what would soon become the state of Kansas, this congregation dates back to a church meeting in a private home in 1855 when Reverend William A. Cardwell arrived and began administering to the handful of families who had established farmsteads in the area. The congregation built their first meetinghouse about one year later. That church edifice served as both a school and house of worship until it was destroyed by a fire in 1892. For the next six years, the church met at a nearby school until a frame church building was disassembled and moved to Big Springs from Whiting, Kansas and reassembled across the street. The current church and matching parsonage were constructed between 1932 and 1933 under the leadership of Reverend Arthur Ward, with members donating all needed funds in the midst of the Great Depression. The community of Big Springs dates back to 1854 and was the first town in Douglas County. As the name suggests, Big Springs was an important place for travelers on the Oregon Trail to secure water. A century later, the members raised funds for a stone memorial marker for their centennial.

An important stop for travelers to secure fresh water along the Oregon Trail, Big Springs was the first settlement in what would become Douglas County when the federal government declared Kansas Territory was opened for settlement. The area was home to many with anti-slavery orientation, and for this reason, the area attracted like-minded supporters of Kansas becoming a free state. Big Springs, named for the flowing springs around the town, was founded in 1854, and the first Free-State convention was held there the following year. Big Springs grew slowly, and soon Lawrence and Lecompton became the leading communities of the area.

Big Springs was also the site of an early effort to support prohibition. When local physician Dr. Carter started a saloon in 1856, residents protested by petitioning him to close the establishment just one night after it opened. When the doctor ignored their letter, a mob of about 40 people raided the saloon the next night, pouring out whiskey barrels and standing on kegs giving Prohibitionist speeches. This was one of the earliest examples of Prohibitionist activism in early Kansas. It slowly spread over the next decades until the short-lived 18th Amendment was ratified in 1919.

While it was soon eclipsed by nearby Lawrence, Big Springs opened a post office in 1856, followed by a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, two stores, and several churches. The town reached a peak at about forty residents in the Territorial Period. When the railroad was built through Kansas to the west, it did not pass near Big Springs. The population remains small, but the church that was founded in 1856 continues to serve the community.

Big Springs, Kansas, Legends of Kansas. Accessed January 7th, 2023. https://legendsofkansas.com/big-springs-kansas/.

Big Springs, Kansas, On The Western Border. Accessed January 7th, 2023. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/map/big-springs-kansas.

Fischer, William. First United Brethren in Christ Church in Kansas, Historical Marker Database. October 18th, 2011. Accessed January 7th, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=48467.