Big Prairie M.E. Church - White County, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 02.984 W 088° 06.410
16S E 402887 N 4211911
M.E. Church 2-1/2 miles SE of Carmi, and about 2-1/2 miles NW of Epworth.
Waymark Code: WMKEM7
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 04/01/2014
Views: 2
County of church: White County
Location of church: County Rd. 1450E, half way between Carmi and Epworth
Service times are ONLY on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Sundays
Rev. Bobby Jack Brewer BA (Bible & World Religions), MDiv. PhD.
Phone: (765) 749-1331
The first white settlers came to White County between 1807 and 1809. The first settlements were near the Little Wabash River and Big Prairie, one of the numerous prairies in the county. These families—Hanna, Land, Hay, Williams, Calvert, Ratcliff, Holderby, Robinson, Stewart, among others—typically had spent time in the Carolinas, Kentucky or Tennessee before moving into Illinois, and most were of Scots-Irish descent. Many came through the land office at Shawneetown, Illinois, which was a port for flatboats which traveled the Ohio River.
Marker on site erected by: White County Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society
Date marker erected: 1967
Marker text:
BIG PRAIRIE CHURCH
ESTABLISHED 1812
This church was the cradle of Methodism in White County. Early pioneers risked Indian raids to worship in the cabins of Robert Land and John Hanna. In 1812 presiding elder Peter Cartwright sent circuit rider John Smith to this settlement. This church was organized in Hanna's house.