Mars Hill - Ottumwa, Iowa
N 40° 53.961 W 092° 21.450
15T E 554117 N 4527782
Mars Hill Church is the oldest log church still in occupancy in the United States. The church grounds also include a cemetery where a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, John Donaldson, is buried. He earned his medal during the Civil War.
Waymark Code: WMM1YX
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 07/05/2014
Views: 6
From the Official Website:
"The gravel road that passes in front of Mars Hill Church is today the dividing line between Wapello and Davis Counties in Iowa. The church building and cemetery were built on the Wapello County side of that line on property donated to the Baptist Church by a Mrs. Barbara Clark.
"Thomas and Barbara Clark arrived in south central Iowa in 1846. They traveled with their eight children by riverboat up the Mississippi to Burlington, and then by covered wagon to the Des Moines River. When they arrived, the river valley was under spring flood waters, so they were attracted to the rock bluff above the surging currents. They paid $63.50 for 50 acres and a fraction of land. Unfortunately, John Clark, the youngest of the Clark's eight children, died shortly after they arrived. In 1846 there was no cemetery, so Barbara Clark donated a plot of land to the Baptists with the provision that the Baptists build a church and cemetery on it. That is why the church was built in 1856, but the land wasn't deeded over until May 22, 1857.
"Margaret Thrall wrote about the church in documents prepared for the Wapello County Historical Society: 'It (Mars Hill Church) was one of the stations on the underground railway system used by Northerners to aid the Negroes in making their way North and (to) freedom. The Negroes were hidden in the timber by day, and then assembled at the church for further transportation. John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame is supposed to have hidden two wagon loads of slaves there before the Civil War.'"
The church is known as the oldest log church still in occupancy in the United States. It still holds an annual service on the second Sunday of each June.
In 2007, vandals set the church on fire. However, with community support and donations, the church was resurrected using many of the original logs from the site. Logs that were too damaged to be reused, were replaced with logs from trees of the area. In May of 2008 the church was reopened.
The Mars Hill Church and cemetery is a site of local pride and legend for the communities of Wapello and Davis counties in Iowa. Since the fire of 2007, visitors are no longer allowed inside. However, the grounds are open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.