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County Corners Church, 1936
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Church at County Corners is sold
The old County Corners church, for many years the religious center of that community but inactive in the past ten years, has been sold. The buyer was the Fairbank Methodist Congregation which in turn offered the structure for sale to the highest bidder. A man from near Aurora bought it for the sum of $400.
Built in 1868 on land owned by the Methodists, the present structure replaced an old log building. The lumber was brought by team from McGregor.
The last minister to preach there was the Rev. Thomas Elwick, Strawberry Point Methodist minister. The last three trustees were Truman Jenney of Lamont, Newman Sheldon who passed away just a few months ago, and Chas. Puffett who moved from that locality 35 years ago.
The church was a union church, but having been built on land owned by the Methodists, the church became the property of the Methodists, who decided that it could be used to better purposes than standing idle.
Correction on Names of Church Trustees
The information we had as to trustees of the old County Corners church proved to be in error. We are informed that the three men mentioned last week were at one time trustees of the cemetery but not of the church. The last three trustees of the church were Frank Grapes, Herbert Dunsmoor and James Deuel, all now deceased. The people still living in the neighborhood who had to do with the church in the days it served as a meeting place have known for some years that it would eventually be taken away. The felt it had served its purpose and that because of the responsibilities of upkeep, insurance and the like, there was no point in keeping it unless it was being used.
~source: newspaper clippings from the Strawberry Point library, unknown newspaper, both from September 1944
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~the photo & newspaper articles were contributed by Terry Sargent