P a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Grace Methodist Episcopal Church Virginia City witnessed Montana’s first Methodist services in 1864. By 1874, however, too many residents had succumbed to “depraved and wicked conditions.” Well-known itinerant ministers Revs. W. W. Van Orsdel and T. C. Iliff, then resident pastors at Virginia City, successfully held a revival to inspire the congregation. On May 4, 1875, a large and reverent crowd gathered to witness the laying of the cornerstone of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. Territorial Governor Benjamin Potts and Judge Henry Blake delivered addresses. Construction under D. C. Farwell proceeded rapidly. The church was, however, unfinished on August 28 when the first service was held there: the well-attended funeral of Alder Gulch discoverer William Fairweather. The finished church, dedicated on November 14, had a debt of $1,013. The guest speaker, Rev. Clark Wright of Helena, stood before the congregation, made an eloquent plea, and the debt was paid before the service ended. The building, its rubblestone walls covered in stucco, functioned as a church until 1900. A Gothic-arched entry, Gothic windows—two with original tracery—and a nameplate, which reads “M.E. Church 1875,” recall the building’s origins. In 2019, the Montana Heritage Commission received a Federal match from the Save America's Treasures grant. This money will go towards replacing the roof and windows, refurbishing the doors, installing new flooring, repairing the structure of the building and upgrading the plumbing and power. When the Methodist Church is restored, it will be utilized again for weddings and social gatherings. In May of 2019, the Montana Preservation Alliance brought a group of volunteers up to Virginia City to complete a training session where they learned how to preserve and restore the windows. The group completed half of the windows and are scheduled to come back summer 2020 to complete the rest. –Courtesy of Montana Heritage Commission Now is the time to Save Montana's History and restore some of these historic buildings. Visit https:// www.savemontanashistory.com for more information . NOTICE: This newsletter will be shifting to a DIGITAL ONLY format. Due to the rising costs of printing and mailing, we feel offering a digital version is our best option. The digital version has been and will continue to be FREE TO ALL! We want to share our stories with everyone! If you know of anyone who would enjoy this newsletter, have them contact us at ghosttownsofmontana@gmail.com and we will add them to our subscriber list. For our print subscribers: you will continue to receive the print version until your subscription runs out. No renewals will be charged or accepted from this point forward. Thank you!!
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