TUMWATER METHODIST CHURCH

The Tumwater Methodist Church is one of the oldest surviving churches in Washington State. The building is a good example of a basic church design that was adopted with minor variations by congregations throughout the Northwest.

Under the inspiration of Reverend A.C. Fairchild, Pastor of Olympia, $1,300 was raised in one day to build the church. The actual construction of the church was a community effort spurred by Captain Crosby, who challenged a friend, Nelson Barnes, to give as much money as he did toward a church. Barnes responded with funds and deeded the property on which to build the church. Labor was donated, and on June 21, 1872, the church was dedicated, debt free. A parsonage adjacent to the church, which still stands, was completed in October 1872 to house Reverend Herbert Patterson, the first pastor of the new church. Tumwater was part of the "Ground Mound Circuit" of the Methodist Church, including the neighboring communities of Bucoda, Bush Prairie, Black River, Ford’s Prairie, and Mound’s Prairie.

When completed, the church was also used by Presbyterians, Unitarians, and Episcopalians as a union facility, but because the Methodists were more abundant, the church was identified with them. They used the church until 1968. Since that time other denominations have located here.

Listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places.

Present day Quaker Meeting House; 219 W. B Street; Built 1872

Henderson House Museum photograph

City of Tumwater Historical Information

Updated: June 23, 2005