Our History: The Church on the Square
First United Methodist Church, according to Pulaski’s first historian, was founded at an early date although it is, admittedly, difficult to name an exact time. Late in 1809‒‒while the legislature was creating Giles County‒‒the Western Conference dispatched Rev. John Cragg to lay out Richland Circuit through the county’s canebrakes, but the commissioners to plan a county seat staked out Pulaski on land which they only came to own in 1812. Although Methodists seem already to have been meeting together, there were no mention of a congregation until 1815 when Dr. Gilbert D. Taylor was converted at the Mount Pisgah campmeeting and sought the consolation of the “feeble band” of Methodists in the town as he contemplated marriage and ministry. Led by Taylor and Thomas Martin, the congregation probably erected its first building‒‒somewhere near 350 South First Street‒‒around 1820.
Local Methodists, like Pulaski, thrived during the 1820s, and by 1833 First Church, which had already built a new brick edifice at First and Flower on the present site of City Hall, had welcomed a presiding elder or district superintendent to the town and was preparing to host its first annual conference and have its own pastor rather than share with another church or churches.. First Church worshiped in its new building for 20 years before selling it to the Odd Fellows and constructing yet another church at Second and Washington Streets‒‒the edifice currently owned by Second Street Church of Christ. This church was the scene of Civil War activities as well as the site of various organizational stages of Campbell Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Congregational organization with Sunday school classes and fellowships for women, men and youth developed after the Civil War. The congregation grew steadily from 100 in 1865 to more than 500 when the present sanctuary was built although there is evidence that the congregation was building more to impress the public than accommodate members. The lower level of the new building at Second and Jefferson streets was completed in 1895, and the sanctuary was opened in 1901. Since the new church included little space for Sunday school classes and other meetings, an educational annex was erected in 1926.
Fire burned through the roof of First Church on December 28, 1934, and firemen’s water rained down on the lower level although the annex was barely touched. Repairs to the original facility were completed in less than a year. Membership, which had grown steadily since completion of new church, soared during World War II and reached 1310 in 1951, remaining well above 1200 for two decades. Ministries flowered, and the Sunday school and programs for men, women, children and youth all expanded dramatically.
Membership entered a forty-year decline around 1970‒‒a common occurrence among mainline congregations. First Church lost members but not energy or conviction. The Sunday school enrolled fewer pupils, but classes remained active. The United Methodist Women thrived, and the Uhnited Methodist Youth Fellowship entered some of its most productive years as did music ministries. Membership has begun to recover during the last two years, under the leadership of the Rev. G. Wayne Davis and his staff, as youung adults and their children, in particular, have affiliated with the congregation. Beginning with Matthew 25 Thrift Shop, First Church has undertaken an expanding program of missional activities. The future of the 200-year-old congregation, which has been so involved with Pulaski’s development, seems promising and secure.
-- Rev. Dr. John Abernathy Smith
Side Note: This brief history of our congregation was graciously written by the late Rev. Dr. John Abernathy Smith - to whom we are forever greatful for providing a monumental labor of love in writing a book about his home congregation. You may purchase a copy of his book by following either link below.
Our Mission Statement
The Mission of First United Methodist Church, Pulaski, TN is to: provide worship and spiritual growth opportunities; provide comfort, compassion, and healing; provide Christian guidance, education, and fellowship; provide for the physical needs of others; provide influence for love, peace, and justice.