United Methodist Church (1849)

The Methodist Church was established in Holly Springs in 1837, just one year after the town had been founded. The first Methodist Church was located at the corner of College Avenue and Craft Street, though this church building has long vanished. The first pastor of the Methodist Church was William Pearson. The Methodists worshiped in this building for over ten years, during which time Methodism became the dominant religion in Holly Springs.

In the late 1840s, the Methodist Church became large enough to expand. On July 20, 1847, Methodist trustees Wyatt Eppes and Robert B. Alexander bought a new lot on Van Dorn Avenue (then called Church Street). The new church was complete in 1849, and the dedication for the building occurred on September 16, 1849. This new church building was a two-story brick building, with the the second floor used for the sanctuary and the bottom floor used as Sunday School rooms. A flight of steps from the outside allowed the congregation to access the dedicated sanctuary. This style of church construction, while unusual in the 20th century, was quite common in the 19th century, and can also be seen in Holly Springs at the 2nd Presbyterian Church.

During the Civil War, the first floor of the Methodist Church was used as a Courthouse after the Marshall County Courthouse was burned by Union soldiers. During the Union occupation of the City, a Union soldier stole a Bible from the Church, though his guilty conscience led him to return the Bible many years later. In the 1869 the Church was extensively renovated, with a new front added to the church, including a vestibule enclosing the original front steps, along with a balcony and large steeple. The front was constructed in the Italianate style, with rounded windows and rounded-arch windows and main doorway.

During the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878, the Church was used as a hospital for the sick and dying. Reverend I. D. Borders, Pastor of the Methodist Church from 1907 to 1909, was the first person in Marshall County to own an automobile. In the 1930s, the Methodist Church has the largest congregation of any white church in town, numbering over 600. The Methodist Church remains a large and vibrant church in the 21st century.