From church website:
"In 1787 Reverend Benjamin Ogden was appointed by the Baltimore Conference to be the circuit preacher of the Cumberland Settlement. Their goal was the creation of a new district west of the Cumberland Mountains. That year, Rev. Ogden reported receiving ninety members into the church. Since that time (one and a half years before George Washington was inaugurated president of the United States) the people and pastors of what is now McKendree United Methodist Church have made a Christian witness in downtown Nashville.
The first church building was located on the southeast corner of what is now the Nashville courthouse square. This 400-square-foot building was made of stone and had a dirt floor. The town government donated the land to the church, but by 1807 the town took the land back to use for business houses and the town courthouse. For a while the church met in homes of different members. Mr. E. D. Hobbs was the town jailer and a very prominent member of the church. His home was in the jail, and church services were often held there. The church members probably thought nothing of hearing and preaching the Gospel in the jail. In 1812 the church moved to what is now Broadway and Seventh Avenue (where Hume-Fogg High School stands). The auditorium was the largest in town and was used by the Tennessee Legislature between 1813 and 1817. In 1817 the congregation decided they were “too far away from the center of population” and they decided to move closer into town. In 1818 a new brick church was erected on the corner of Third and Spring Street (now Church Street). The church covered the entire lot and every available space was used. But by 1830 this location had been outgrown. It was decided to move again!
On March 9, 1832, the lot on which McKendree now stands was purchased, and the first building completed in 1833. The Church was dedicated by Bishop McKendree on November 23, 1834, and at that time, the church was re-named in his honor. The new church was quite a stately undertaking for its day. The sanctuary seated 1500 people, and was the largest Methodist Church in the United States at that time.
During the Civil War, the Union Army took over McKendree Church, and converted it into an Army hospital. The building took much use during the war, and in 1876 the congregation decided to build a new one. This new building took three years to build and became known as the “high steeple Gothic church.” The middle steeple was 230 feet high and the towers on each side rose 130 feet. This beautiful Gothic church was dedicated January 29, 1879 but its beauty was short-lived. On Sunday, October 26 of the same year, the church caught fire after the close of the evening service. The building was completely destroyed, and the cause was never learned. The congregation decided to rebuild and on May 7, 1882, the third church structure on the present site was dedicated. It was modeled like the previous church but had more practical features and was in a more Norman-Gothic style. In June of 1905 plans were made to put in stained-glass windows, and renovate the building. This work had barely begun when on July 4th the church was again devastated by flames. It is thought that a firecracker accidentally shot inside an open window. The building burst into flames just after midnight and was destroyed.
After much debate the congregation decided to rebuild on the same location. The cornerstone of the present building was laid on December 10, 1907 and in January of 1910 the church was completed and occupied. It was located back further from the street with a large lawn. The sanctuary had the first “echo organ” in the South. The beautiful windows (a combination of stained glass and art glass) showing scenes from the life of Christ were installed in 1910.
In 1932 construction on the “educational addition” to the rear of the sanctuary was begun. This provided a kitchen and fellowship area, nursery and toddler space, and much-needed Sunday School classrooms. In 1965, it was decided to use the large space in front of the church for the erection of an addition to provide room for the growing needs of the church. This addition contains four floors of classroom space, a large fellowship hall, kitchen, drama facilities, and staff offices. In general design, the front of the new addition resembles the face of the old building. It presents a beautiful symbol of the Christian faith at the center of a great city.
In 1983 McKendree Church bought the parking garage at the rear of the church building. In 1988, the congregation purchased the lot on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Commerce Street for the purpose of building a Christian Life Center. Completed in March of 1990, it has six floors, and includes a basement parking area, the McKendree Day Care Center, office space, the Health and Fitness Center, and a rooftop garden."