First United Methodist Church Jasper - Jasper, AL - Alabama Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Marker Text:
Methodism came to Jasper with the city’s founder, Dr. Edward Gordon Musgrove, who donated land for the courthouse and for most of downtown Jasper. In 1862, he and others constructed a building of large hewn logs that was used as both a Methodist church and a school. Around 1858, a two-story frame church building was constructed. Unsubstantiated local accounts state the church was burned to the ground in March of 1865 by General James H. Wilson’s cavalry corps. Another frame building, shared with the Masons, was erected here in 1869. In 1888, it was replaced by a brick church with a steeple.

In 1915, when a new church was planned. Lycurgus B. Musgrove, grandson of Dr. Edward Musgrove, provided the funds for the white marble exterior and donated the stained glass dome in memory of his mother, Elizabeth Cain Musgrove. First United Methodist Church, Jasper was dedicated, debt-free, in 1927.

With distinguishing features such as white marble from Georgia, mahogany wood interior, stained glass windows and an art glass interior dome, the church is among Alabama’s most outstanding examples of beaux arts neoclassical architecture. The church was listed to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1983 and to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Marker Name: First United Methodist Church Jasper Marker Type: Urban Addtional Information:: The First United Methodist church of Jasper is not a traditional county seat town United Methodist Church. First of all there is a tremendous amount of history in this old church. There is a stained glass dome that occupies most of the ceiling of the sanctuary. There is a large brass plaque on one of the pews that marks the place where President, Franklin D. Roosevelt sat when he attended the funeral of William Brockman Bankhead on September 17, 1940. The exterior of this church also sets it apart. The exterior is white marble. The church sits on the corner in downtown Jasper across the street from the Court House. http://fumcjasper.com/ Date Dedicated / Placed: Unknown Marker Number: None

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/25/2015 S10 visited it