From 1895 until 1949 the congregation of the Choteau United Methodist Church worshipped in a building across the street from the present red brick church. In July of 1949 the old 1895 church was moved across the street and set on part of the concrete foundation prepared for construction of the new church. The new church was then built around the old nave, incorporating it into the 1949 building. We assume the old nave to have been faced with the same brick which covers the rest of the building, as "old" doesn't appear anywhere on the outside, though we're guessing that at least part of the impetus for reusing the old nave was to allow the interior to remain as it was for 50 plus years, a concession to nostalgia.
With a large transept near the centre of the nave, the building has the perfect location for a corner steeple/entrance. The square steeple/bell tower is built of the identical brick as is the rest of the building up to the bottom of the belfry, with a squared metal cornice just below. The octagonal belfry, with rectangular vents on each face, is entirely metal clad. It gives way to a tapering dark colored metal spire, finishing in a cross.
The church no longer with any allegiance to Gothic or Renaissance architecture, by 1949 church architecture had become, in large measure, "contemporary". Choteau United Methodist Church on the street facing end, it has a Roman arched window and the Methodist logo with a round window inside. The only decorative brickwork to be seen is the corbelled brick around this window.
Our History
Rev. W.W. Van Orsdel, a traveling Methodist evangelist and missionary, better known as “Brother Van,” held the first Protestant service at the Blackfeet and Peigan Agency, located several miles west of Choteau, July 1872. The next morning, Brother Van set out with a party of twenty-five warriors for a buffalo hunt on the “Freeze-out Flat.” The buffalo were plentiful and Brother Van shot his first buffalo. The celebrated cowboy artist, Charles Russell, painted a picture of this event.
In 1890, Rev. Job Little was appointed to serve the Methodist Church in Choteau, and in 1894 Rev. George Logan came. It was during this time that the first church and parsonage were completed. The parsonage was built on the location of the current parsonage, and the church was right next door. In the springtime each year, as the grass greens up, the exact location of the entrance of the old church can be seen. The grass in the location of its sidewalk still comes up a different color of green!
In 1913, while Rev. P.R. McMahon was pastor, the first parsonage was moved and the current parsonage was built. There are folks who remember going to Sunday School in the parsonage. Annual Conferences were help in Choteau in 1901, 1905, and 1913.
It was in 1949 that the old church was moved across the street (which now makes up the upstairs fellowship room and offices) and the new sanctuary was built. The first service in the new building, a “Christmas Victory Service”, was held on December 18, 1949. The indoor handicap ramp, one of the best anywhere, was built in 1995/96.
From the Choteau United Methodist Church