Headquarters First United Methodist Church - 805 Canal St NE

The tower bell was donated to the church by a former Union officer who moved to Decatur. That bell still calls people to worship, alerts the community to disaster and celebrates major events.

Thirty years later the congregation moved that 1868 frame building and erected the present brick structure of Romanesque architectural exterior and Akron style sanctuary. The three stained glass windows, representing the Holy Trinity, were framed in Decatur, using glass supplied by an Atlanta company. Some 300,000 bricks, many made in Decatur, were used in the building. The church’s Ladies Aid Society provided 555 yards of Brussels carpet.

Using mostly local talent and labor, plus donated material and funds, the total cost of the building and furnishings was $14,450. The congregation dedicated that building on Easter Sunday, 1899. Growth of the church membership resulted in expanded fellowship and classroom facilities in 1927, 1953, 1991 and 2008.

Despite war’s destruction, two yello fever epidemics in Decatur, several name changes and the city’s economic struggles, Decatur’s First United Methodist Church continues to share the faith and serve the community and the world.