Dr. Thomas Corwin Iliff is credited with building the first church in Missoula. He went to Missoula in 1871, and on September 15th, 1872 the first church in Missoula was dedicated, a small building that for several years was the only church in Missoula. It was the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for several years was used by other denominations, as well. That church was enlarged and remodeled several times, beginning in 1890, until being replaced by this church.
In 1910 the Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians were all building new churches in Missoula and this one, the First Methodist Episcopal Church, was completed in 1911 at a cost of $50,000, a handsome sum in 1911. It, too, has been enlarged over the years, doubling in size since 1911.
Information on the early churches of Missoula is to be found
HERE, beginning on page 41 and
HERE, beginning on page 12.