The History of Cowan Fellowship Church and the Methodist and Presbyterian Congregations

Cowan’s First Methodist Church:  1842 until ?

By Jim and Jenny Lou Brock

(Reprinted from the Cowan Bell, Vol. I, No. 18, page 3.  November 14, 1974)

     “This indenture made and entered into this thirty first day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two -----.”  So begins the deed conveying two acres of land to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church by Henry Easley for one dollar.  They were to “cause to be erected a house for the worship of Almighty God----“.  These were the two acres excluded by the court in the sale of a 240 acre tract to fifteen men, the story of which appeared in the last issue of THE BELL.

     We found this old deed, conveying land to the Methodist Episcopal Church, quite by accident.  Through an error, the transaction had never been recorded in the index, and in searching for other information, we both noticed the word “Methodist”.  We are members of this denomination and thought 1947 marked the year of the first Methodist Church in Cowan.  It was exciting for us to find that one existed here over one hundred thirty years ago!

     This property was located in the area of the present Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Manse, and the home of Mr. and Mrs. B.B. Looney.  It is shown on a plot of the town of Cowan surveyed in the 1850’s.

     The church trustees signing this deed of 1842 were: Robinson Wagner, Alexander Bails (This name may be incorrect as it is almost impossible to read), William Stewart, William T. Wells, William Pearson, Hugh Jones and Luke Adams.

     These two acres remained intact until 1883.  In that year a portion of this land was deeded to J.C. Montgomery, Sr. in exchange for two small plots of ground.  At the same time, the Acme Academy acquired another portion of the church property in exchange for one small lot.  The trustees for the Methodist Church were J.F. Lason and S.D. Rowe.  The pastor in charge, and also signing as a trustee, was J. Ouley or Onley.  The names of the men signing the deed as trustees for Acme Academy were: J.M. Stewart, John McIllheran, W.A. Shook, L.R. Sartin and H.J. Hawkins.

     We do not know when this church ceased to exist.  It must have played some important role in the history of our town.

                                                                                                                                                J.L.B. and J.R.B.

Cowan Methodist Church:  1947-1962

Some decades after the original Cowan Methodist Church ceased to exist, a Rev. Cullen T. Carter, Conference Extension Secretary, made an exploratory visit to Cowan in May of 1947.  At the time, Cowan was a growing and thriving community and the purpose of his visit was to see if Cowan had need for a new Methodist congregation and the means to support one.

Indeed, a new congregation was organized, meeting at Cowan Public School, on Sunday, June 8, 1947.  A piece of land was deeded to the congregation by Mr. Ben Heikens.  Shortly thereafter an army chapel was purchased from the historic Camp Forrest in nearby Tullahoma, moved to Cowan, and reconstructed on the donated lot.

The church formally opened on April 14, 1948 and grew from the original 36 founding

members to eighty-six members only five years later.

Cowan Presbyterian Church: 1907-1962

Cowan Presbyterian Church was formed in 1907 following an episode in church history known as the “Union Movement”.

The Cumberland Presbyterian denomination was founded in 1810 (following an American religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening) and played a vital role in the pioneer settlement of Franklin County.  The brush arbor at Goshen Camp Ground played a vital role in the early evangelization of the Cowan area and also played a vital role in early education.  The Goshen Cumberland Presbyterian Church, built on the former campground, is Franklin County’s oldest church.  Members of Goshen Cumberland Presbyterian founded and built the Cowan Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the year 1886.

The Union Movement began in the late 19th Century as leaders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. proposed a merger of the two denominations into a larger national church body.  In 1907, a majority of delegates to the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly voted to merge into the larger Presbyterian denomination.  Although the majority of Cumberland Presbyterian congregations ratified the vote of the General Assembly, a sizable minority voted to continue as Cumberland Presbyterians.

The minority of members at Cowan Cumberland Presbyterian Church ultimately retained ownership of the church property on West Cowan Street while the majority of members comprising the Union Movement left to form a new Presbyterian congregation.

The new Presbyterian body held meetings over a short period at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and soon thereafter began meeting at Cowan Baptist Church.  Plans were drawn in 1909 to build a new building on an acquired lot on East Cowan Street, a building that was completed in the fall of 1910.

Cowan Fellowship Church - 1962

With the rise of the automobile and the decline of rail transportation, Cowan’s rapid growth of the first half of the 20th Century turned into a slow decline in both population numbers and economic strength.  By 1962, it was noted that membership and interest in Cowan churches was also in decline.

Not only did the members of Cowan Presbyterian Church and Cowan Methodist Church realize the difficulty in maintaining their respective congregations and properties, they entered into formal discussions about the possibility of bringing the two bodies into a federated church.

A feasibility study was commissioned by both congregations and found the suggested federated church to be a viable possibility.  Due to the closeness of the community, people from both congregations were extremely well acquainted with one another, and there were several examples of kinship between the various members of both churches.

Applications for a federated church were submitted to the Bishop and District Superintendent of the Methodist Conference as well as to the Executive of Nashville Presbytery.  After consultation with both national church bodies, it was agreed by all parties that the two congregations could come together with the stipulation that each retain its own affiliation and identity.

On June 17, 1962, members of both congregations voted overwhelmingly to complete the suggested union, and the name Cowan Fellowship Church was adopted as the name of the federated congregation.

A new constitution was drafted by a committee of both congregations and ultimately approved by the Methodist Conference and the Nashville Presbytery.  The unique arrangement provides for a governing council with six members from each denomination with the minister serving in the presiding role.  The constitution further stipulates that the minister be ordained and in good standing in either the Presbyterian Church or the Methodist Church, with each one being able to simultaneously serve in the other denomination.  The Reverend Sidney Stine, a Methodist, served as the first minister of the new congregation with each minister thereafter being an alternation between Presbyterian, then Methodist, then Presbyterian, and so on.

Following the merger of the two congregations, the newly formed Cowan Fellowship Church held Sunday services in the Presbyterian building on East Cowan Street while using the Methodist building on North Poplar as a fellowship hall and youth building.

In 1966, the Presbyterian building was sold to a newly formed (and short lived) congregation of the Church of God and Cowan Fellowship relocated entirely to the Methodist building.  The move gave the church the financial resources necessary to plan a new church building capable of housing the growing congregation.  In 1967, a building committee was formed as well as a task force to raise the necessary funds.  Mr. Glenn Hines donated a lot on East Cumberland Street and ground was broken for the new building on March 1, 1968.

The efficiently-designed building with 200-seat capacity, an education unit that doubles as a fellowship hall (with kitchen), and two choir rooms that double as classrooms met the congregation’s need almost perfectly and was paid in full only a few years after being built.

Today, more than four decades after its formation, Cowan Fellowship Church continues to function under her very unique dual affiliation.  Like all Cowan churches, Cowan Fellowship struggled for a number of years with dwindling membership and participation.  In the 21st Century the congregation is stable and growing steadily.

Information for this article was gathered from the writings of Jim and Jenny Lou Brock, Emeline Gist, and Mrs. Violet Wakeland.  Compiled by L. Jarod Pearson.

<--Return to History page