Main Street
United Methodist Church
Ronceverte, WV
Southern District 

The Black Methodist Church was first started in the late 1870’s in the office of the Bowman Lumber Company, located on the upper Island Park of Ronceverte, West Virginia. When Trinity Methodist Church in Ronceverte moved, a committee from the Black Methodist Church started negotiations with the Washington Conference and the Trinity Church. The cost of purchasing the old church on Main Street was $3,000.

In 1919, a church committee was established to raise funds for the purchase of the church. The church members planned a celebration to commemorate the landing of the African slaves at Jamestown in 1719. The celebration began with a long parade. Included in the parade was a wagon, pulled by oxen, carrying people that had been slaves. Harry Lacy drove one of the first FWD Standard Oil trucks in the parade. A large tent was erected on the brick yard grounds and visitors from Hinton, Alderson, White Sulphur, Lewisburg and other neighboring communities attended. Guest speakers were from
Chicago, Illinois and local areas. Dinner was served, followed by a community sing. The highlight of the day was the
burning of the mortgage for the purchase of our church building.

From 1880 to 1926, Main Street Methodist Church remained in the Washington Conference of the Central Jurisdiction. In 1920, the corner stone for the Main Street Methodist Church was laid. In 1965, due to the transition period, most Black Methodist churches in West Virginia became a part of the West Virginia Conference. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Conference merged to become the United Methodist Church of the West Virginia Annual Conference. Consequently, Main Street Methodist Church became known as Main Street United Methodist Church in 1968. Thirty-seven ministers have served the congregation in its one hundred thirty-six years.