In 1881 a group of Methodists met to build a new church. After several names were given it was finally decided to call the church Oak Grove. At this meeting young men volunteered to take teams and wagons and go into the wilderness near Doniphan, Mo. to buy lumber. It was all bought in the rough and was hand planed, as you can now see on parts of the walls and ceiling. After the building was near completion Uncle Richie Sweeza with young Roland Roberts went into the Current River bottoms to rive out the boards for the roof. Young Roberts became very ill. He was brought back to the home of Mr. Sweeza and passed away in a few hours. .

Some of the families who helped in the building of this early church were: Barnett, Hopkins, Gross, Simington, Hill, Kibler, Spikes, Sweeza, Roberts, Biggers, and McDaniel.

The first services were held in late 1883. December 11,1886 the first Quarterly Conference was held. It was then White River Conference and Newport District. The church was then on a charge with Pocahontas. The first presiding Elder was M.M. Smith. P.C. was J.I. Maynard.

This History Was Written By: Mrs. Henry Simington

[Mary Isabel] - Oldest Member at Oak Grove UMC - 90 years. Related to T. S. & Emily Simington

Roll call at this conference from the following churches were: J.I. Maynard - P.C., Pocahontas; J.C. Miller - L.E., Clearview; S.A. Dame - L.P., Oak Grove and A.M. Grant - L.P., Mt. Pisgah.

Stewards: T.S. Simington - Oak Grove; Richard Sweeza - Cold Water; S.P. Hurn - New Canaan; James Hurn, A.S. Chastain, Gid Thompson, A.H. Kibler - Trustee, F.I. Inman, M.M. & M.F. Collier, N.B. Beakley, Thomas Ellis, J.R. Hill, Samuel Ellis, J.C. Wilson, William Deaver, and the first pastor was R.P. Harwood.

Sold to E.M. Church So. - 40 acres for $1.00. Land deed was made March 9, 1881 by T. S. and Emily Simington. Recorded Page 13 - Pages 313-314. The mother Church of Oak Grove is Old Siloam founded 1865, 3 miles east of Middlebrook, Randolph County.

The Oak Grove United Methodist Church building, erected in 1883, is still in use. The original logs, with bark still on them, may be seen under the floor. The walls and ceilings of the two classrooms and the ceiling of the choir reveal the original hand planed boards.

*The 1893 minutes of the Fourth Quarterly Conference of the Pocahontas Circuit, which included Oak Grove, show the progress of the church. The report of the trustees, made by T. S. Simington, showed the church owned 40 acres of land with 11/2 acres cleared and benced. The parsonage was composed of two hewed log rooms and one box room - a chimney to each of the log rooms and a stove in the box room - "outbuilding one crib and stable, 1 meat house. Parsonage and other buildings and improvements valued at $450. . . . Our church house dimsion 26x46 ft 11 foot story frame building W. B. outside ceiled inside painted inside and out seating capacity about 400 persons all in good repair valued at five hundred dollars clear of debt and title good" During this quarter Oak Grove raised $76.81 for "support of the ministry" while Pocahontas church raised $72.60.

*Minutes on file at Pocahontas United Methodist Church

This article was taken from the Lawrence County Historical Society Quarterly,Summer 1981, Volume4, Number 3. The information on this page may be used for historical and genealogical purposes and not for financial gain. Any use must be accompanied by written permission of the page owner and this copyright must appear with the article. Jeri Helm Fultz