It was a cold blustery day in October 1877 when Rev. Charles Wesley Batchller, a circuit riding minister from Yankton, sat down with a dozen people on the banks of Lake Madison to form the first Methodist “class” that would eventually become the Madison United Methodist Church. The “class” evolved into the Methodist Church in 1882 with 131 members and ready for a building of their own. A church was built on the corner of West Center Street and Blanche Avenue at a cost of $3,000 and dedicated on August 30 1885. The church structure served Methodism here until 1906 when the present church was built on the corner of Egan Avenue and Northeast Second Street at a cost of $25,000. The building was dedicated December 29-30 1906. The educational unit was added and dedicated in 1960. The present sanctuary was completely renovated as you see it today in 2004.
On or about May 10, 1939 the three divisions of the Methodist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Protestant Church, and Methodist Episcopal Church South were merged under the name of The Methodist Church. The official name of the Madison church was then changed from The Methodist Episcopal Church to the First Methodist Church. Then in April 1968 the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to become the United Methodist Church that we know today.
