West Grove United Methodist Church

West Grove United Methodist Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	21944 Echo Ave. West Grove, Iowa
Coordinates	40°43′33″N 92°33′24″W / 40.72583°N 92.55667°WCoordinates: 40°43′33″N 92°33′24″W / 40.72583°N 92.55667°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1904
Architect	Methodist Board of Church Extension
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference #	04000514[1]
Added to NRHP	May 26, 2004

West Grove United Methodist Church is located in the Unincorporated community of West Grove, Iowa, United States. West Grove has always been a Crossroads village, serving the surrounding rural area.^[2] At one time it had five churches, and now it has been reduced to this one. The site was originally that of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which had been organized in 1854, built in 1881. It eventually became a Lyceum Hall, a school, and then left unoccupied until it was torn down in 1902.

The Methodist Episcopal Church had been formally organized in West Grove in 1899, although it had been active in town since 1871. The men of the church and friends of the church built the current frame Gothic Revival sanctuary. They followed building plans provided by the Methodist Board of Church Extension. It was completed in 1904 for $2,000.^[2] The congregation almost disbanded and lost its church in the 1920s through abandonment of services. It was affiliated with the Methodist Church after the Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church united in 1939. Its affiliation changed to the United Methodist Church after the Methodist Church united with the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1968. The church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[1]

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Christine Pauley. "West Grove United Methodist Church" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-03-07.