St. Paul Methodist Church

Front: Methodism in Chesterfield County dates to the 1780s. This Methodist congregation organized in c.1830. It was one of thirteen original member churches of the Chesterfield Circuit, est. 1832. Rev. John M. Kelly was the circuit’s first preacher. Early records identify this congregation as “Courthouse” church. Members eventually built a church several blocks east at what later became Chesterfield Baptist Church. Reverse: In 1875, St. Paul trustees acquired ¼ ac. at this site where they built a wood frame church building. In c.1905, Rev. J.J. Stevenson oversaw construction of the brick Gothic Revival church that stands today. St. Paul was historically part of the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church, South, and joined the United Methodist Church upon its creation in 1968. The education building behind the church was built in 1965.