History of the Church

The first Methodist preaching in Chestertown was by Rev. Tobias Spicer in 1807, although the Rev. Richard Jacob, a circuit rider, had traveled through this area and was drowned while fording the Schroon River in the spring of 1796.

The first Methodist church, the Old West Church, was built before 1830 near Friends Lake. That church was incorporated Nov. 15, 1830. The Rev. John Baldwin, who ran a small sawmill at the foot of Friends Lake is credited with cutting the lumber and doing much of the building. This was torn down about 1927.

The first church in the village was erected about 1835, a small one room building. It stood about where the Catholic Church now stands, facing the present location of the Methodist church building.

Following the Civil War, the congregation desired a larger building and sold the original church building to the Catholics. The present building was erected under the leadership of Rev. Edward Morgan and layman Benjamin Doty in 1867 at a cost of $6,000. It was further enlarged during the pastorate of Rev. Lyman C. Pettit, 1890-1892, by the addition of the choir loft in which a pipe organ was installed. It is said that the bell in this church building is one of the oldest and best, and weighs 2,600 pounds.

The Centennial Year of the Methodist circuit was celebrated in 1936 and a new organ was installed and paid for at that time.

In 1946, under the leadership of Rev. Fred B. Royce, the exterior of the church was painted and major changes were made on the interior. The choir loft and chancel were revised as now arranged. A Service of Dedication was held on June 30^th.

In 1956-1957 a new furnace was installed, replacing the wood-burning one, which heated only the second floor.

In 2015 a new handicap bathroom was installed to replace the original bathroom and a handicap ramp was added at the front of the building.

In 2016 the ceiling in the downstairs fellowship room began to come down and was replaced with a new ceiling and new lights.

In 2017 a new septic system was installed. A new fuel tank was purchased and put in the furnace room at the back of the church. The old tank, which had been in the ground, was dug up and disposed of.

On July 30, 1967, a Centennial Celebration was held to observe the 100^th anniversary of the building of this church.

A Sesquicentennial Celebration was held on July 30, 2017 to observe the construction of our church building on its present site.

February 17, 2007; The new steeple is put on by the Pottersville Fire Department.

Many thanks to the Pottersville firefighters who put up the new steeple.