IAGenWeb Project - Allamakee co. Church records
updated 01/27/2013


Mt. Hope Presbyterian church
English Bench, Union City township


Mt. Hope, May 1962 - photo contributed by Alice Gensmer
Mt. Hope, May 1962
~photo contributed by Alice Gensmer



Mt. Hope Presbyterian Has Been Active for 80 Years

By Mabel H. Medary, Gazette Correspondent

Mt. Hope Presbyterian church, which has served its congretation for more than 80 years, stands at the foot of the bluff about a mile north of the Upper Iowa river crossing in Union City township. The church was remodeled and modernized last year. A modern kitchen and dining room were added to the structure during the remodeling.

The congregation was organized in 1858 with 11 charter members. the organizational meeting was held in the log cabin of E.T. Albert, who settled in that vicinity in 1856. The Rev. A.H. Houghton, Presbyterian pastor at Lansing, assisted in formation of the congregation and from time to time conducted services in the schools and homes of the neighborhood. When the church roll included 70 members, money was solicited to build a house of worship - the church which has been in use ever since.

The church took its name from Mt. Hope farm, on which it was erected. The farm was named by Mrs. Benjamin Ratcliffe, whose husband was among the early settlers of that area. The congregation's membership, which still is small, includes many descendants of the first settlers in the area and some descendants of the founders of the congregation. Pastors of the Lansing church have served the congregation throughout its history. The present pastor is the Rev. C.H. Williemssen.

~source: Cedar Rapids Gazette, 3/24/1951
~transcribed by S. Ferrall



History of Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church
Union City Township, Allamakee County, Iowa

1858-1958
By Rev. Edmond DeBuhr

On the Hundredth Anniversary of Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church, we will on these pages present a brief history of incidents and occurrences as they happened while in these years Mt. Hope was making her pilgrimage from milestone to milestone. A Hundredth Anniversary can only be approached with thanksgiving to God, who in His love and mercy and grace, guided, preserved and kept Mt. Hope through these many years.

As it happens in the lives of individuals, so also Mt. Hope has had her lights and shadows in the first hundred years, already a longer span than lived by individuals. The members of the fourth generation of Mt. Hope can say today as Israel said in days of old Psalm 126:3, "The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” Mt. Hope has an interesting history, especially so because of the rugged pioneer life, as it has been lived by the early fathers and mothers. We today can hardly conceive as to what it meant for them to become organized as a church, so that they could regularly worship God on the Sabbath Day. We have a high regard for the pastors and charter members who did the organizing. It took courage for those eleven charter members to organize a congregation in the “wildwood“, with the first contribution, a gold coin of five dollars. That minister's wife's heart was with "Home Missions" when she sent that coin along from Wheeling, West Virginia.

The pastors who served Mt. Hope over a period of a hundred years were very conscientious and accurate in keeping the church records. We shall let these records speak for themselves, some of them written with elderberry juice for ink. The early settlers of the vicinity of Mt. Hope were served by traveling ministers, or circuit riders, whose trips to the community were sometimes at three months intervals. Services were conducted in a log school house on the bench land of the Benjamin Ratcliffe farm which had been erected in 1850. The settlers come by ox team and otherwise with their growing families to attend religious services. A Presbyterian Church of eleven members was organized in the Old Stone House, now owned by Charles and Albert Hartley, on August 15th,1858, by Rev. Joseph Adams of Frankville, Charles Fitch of Dubuque, and Rev. A.H. Houghton, a congregational pastor. E.T. Albert and Benjamin Ratcliffe were elected as elders. By unanimous vote, the church was named Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church. At stated times, Rev. Adams of Frankville and Rev. James Frothingham of Caledonia, Minnesota, came to serve the church, but Rev. Houghton later served as supply.

The eleven charter members were: E.T., Jane, Daniel, and Elizabeth Albert, who came from the Millsville Presbyterian Church in Ohio; Mrs. Mary Roe, Mrs. S.D. Allen, and Benjamin and Charlotte Ratcliffe, who came from First Presbyterian Church in Wheeling West Virginia; John Shakelton; Mrs. Sophia Shakelton; and Mrs. Merritt. Since writing materials were not plentiful in these early days, the minutes of this first meeting were recorded in elderberry juice. Plans for the building of the church were disrupted and delayed by the Civil War. Services during these years were held in homes and various school houses.

In a letter written in February, 1870 by Benjamin Ratcliffe to his sister in Wheeling, West Virginia, he states, “We have determined to build our church a frame building 26-41 feet. Nine hundred dollars has been subscribed, and we expect it to cost sixteen hundred dollars. We will build it after corn planting.“

The first contribution for the new church was a five dollar gold coin, brought from Wheeling by Charlotte Ratcliffe, Mrs. Benjamin Ratcliffe, which had been given to her by her pastor’s wife in Wheeling, with the expressed wish that it be used for the building of a church in the new land.

Sunday School had already been organized in the year 1857.

The new church was dedicated on the 21st of February, 1871, by the Rev. Frothingham of Lansing, and a new organ was purchased for this occasion.

Other gifts that were received for the church were seven pounds of sterling from a relative in Scotland, and a gift of $300.00 from Mrs. McClure of New York.

The first wedding in the church was that of George Bellows and Mary Agnes Ratcliffe.

In the month of October, 1877, the women organized as a Ladies Aid.

A cemetery was laid out adjoining the church, and a parsonage was built on the church grounds in the year 1872. The parsonage stood for 71 years. On October 23rd, 1956, it was destroyed by fire in the night.

The ministers who served Mt. Hope within this span of a hundred years were Rev. Adams and Rev. Crawford of Frankville and Rev. James Frothingham of Lansing. Dr. A.H. Houghton of Lansing served as supply and preached in a vacant house in French Creek until the school house was built, which was then used for worship services. He also preached in English Bench in a school house until the church was built, when Rev D.A. Wallace came to preach for one year. Since then, services have been rendered by the following pastors:

Rev. Edwin Robb - 1871
Rev. George Leonard - 1872 - 1873
The following served at intervals:
Rev. Frothingham of Caledonia, Minnesota
Rev. Adams of Frankville
Rev. Crawford of Frankville
Rev. Levi Greene - 1874
Rev. Hanna of Rossville - 1882
Rev. Robinson of Frankville - 1882
Rev. McCaskey - 1885 - 1895.
Rev. Crousnz - 1896 - 1901
Rev. Sutherland - 1902 - 1904.
Rev. J.C.B. Peck - 1904 - 1906.
Rev. Davidson - 1907 - 1908
Rev. Grossman - 1906 - 1907
Rev. Stewart - 1906 - 1907
Rev. J.E. Johnson - 1908 - 1914
Rev. Howard Smith - 1914 - 1917
Rev. R.E. Paden - 1917 - 1919
Rev. J.T. Reagan - 1919 - 1925
Rev. A.D. Rundall - 1925 - 1927
Rev. A.C. Prust - 1927 - 1931
Rev. H.J. Noeding - 1932 - 1935
Rev. C.M. Haas - 1938 - 1944
Rev. Calvin Willomssen - 1945 - 1954
Rev. Edmond DeBuhr 1954

Those servants of God all made a contribution to build up Mt. Hope, some of them under the hardships of pioneer life. We know very little of the history of those pastors who served in the beginning of the century. Some of these pastors may have soon died after they served here, and may be in the grave nearly a hundred years. We honor them, however, for they have laid a good foundation, upon which we build, and future generations will build.

Let us now learn where some of these old pioneers hailed from, who settled around Mt. Hope and English Bench. Francis Hartley and wife, Hephzibah, were the first white people to settle on English Bench. They were from the village of Manea in England, some thirty miles north of London, where it is known he worked as foreman of a ditching gang on what they call, "The Upper Flats". They sailed for America in 1848, and landed at New York. It is also known that in a short time after landing, they were at Portage, Wisconsin. By the year 1853, they were plowing land on what is now English Bench, and had built themselves a small log house.

William Beardmore Sr. sailed from Liverpool, England for America on the 1st of February, in the year 1853. Mrs. Beardmore with three children, William, Agnes, and Alfred, followed in the fall of the year, settling in Wheeling, West Virginia, where they lived before coming to Union City township, Allamakee county, in April 1865. Along with his farming and blacksmithing, his two sons William and Alfred operated a Ferry Boat across the Iowa River, where the Dawson Bridge now stands. Mrs. Elizabeth (Sadler) Beardmore, wife of William Beardmore Jr., served as organist at Mt. Hope Church over forty years, taking the place of Mrs. Agnes (Ratcliffe) Bellows who had been organist for many years in the early beginning of Mt. Hope Church. Mrs. Hepsie (Hartley) McClintock was Sunday School organist at this time.

Judge Thomas A. Beardmore, Captain in World War I, is still serving as Circuit Judge. It was through his efforts that the English Bench and Mt. Hope cemeteries were organized for perpetual care. The English Bench Cemetery was platted in the early days before Mt. Hope Church was built. There are a large number of the early settlers buried on those burial grounds.

Two soldiers are buried in the English Bench Cemetery; namely, John Sires and Joseph Hartley. The following soldiers are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery: John Dowling, James Singleton, Jacob H. Singleton, Jacob Singleton, Joseph Green, John Williamson, John W. Hartley and George Robinson.

John Sires came to this community at the early age of seven years. He came from Princeton, Indiana, with his mother and step-father, William Bulman, in 1854. He was married twice, first to Sarah Duff, and later to Katherine Burroughs. His descendents, and those of the present generation, are very musically inclined and talented. They have served this community for many years with their talents by rendering music.

John W. Hartley, George W. Bulman, William Bulman, all born in Cambridgeshire, England, came to this country while very young, and settled in Allamakee county, and later raised large families.

Mrs. George Bulman, or Aunt Ann, as she was better known to all who have heard of her, has rendered a marvelous service to people of this area in their infirmities, when doctors and nurses were hard to get. No night was too dark or stormy for her to go to the bedside of a sick friend or neighbor. We today can hardly conceive what great sacrifices these good women have made when in the heat of the summer, and the cold of the winter they entered the homes, log houses, to minister unto those who were ill.

William Sadler was born in Cambridgeshire, England and crossed the Atlantic in 1851, and settled in Indiana. He married Mary Bulman, also from Cambridgeshire. They started out for English Bench in search for her brothers Thomas and William. The story is told that they camped at the foot of the hill leading to the Bench (near what is now the Fred Bulman home) and discovered at daylight that they had stopped within a few rods of the home of the brothers.

George Bellows, Andrew Leppert, William Beardmore Jr., Benjamin Hartley, Leonard Bulman, and George Hartley have served as elders down through the years. Our present elders are listed on the last page of this booklet.

Some of the names of the old fathers immigrated into this area are no longer on the Mt. Hope Church roll. Some have moved out, but others have moved in and received into the congregation. After one hundred years of agricultural work it has become very evident that the hills are not only good to look at, but are also productive, where past generations have made a good living.

Another family that left the homeland to come to America were grandpa and grandma Bulman, who were married in England October 9, 1848. Thomas Bulman was born in "the round house" in England in Little Thetford, and his wife was born in Chatteris. They sailed from Liverpool, October 31st, 1848, on the William Kent. They landed at New Orleans December 9th, 1848, where they stayed about a month, and then took a river boat to Evansville, Indiana. The boy, to pay the fare worked on the boat, taking the place of those that were sick with cholera. In 1854 they left Evansville to take up land in Winnebago Strip, where Francis Hartley then was. They traveled by wagon and team. They reached the banks of the Upper Iowa River on the morning of October 31, and forded the river near Mt. Hope bridge, that is, where the bridge is now located, and on the same day reached the log house of Francis Hartley on the east side of English Bench.

The name of a family; namely, Gilchrist, no longer known by the younger folks, was interwoven into the family relationship of English Bench and Mt. Hope areas. The name Gilchrist broken down becomes gil (boy) and Christ. At the time of the Crusades the boys who went on the Children's Crusade were known as Christ boys, and hence Gilchrist. A good ancestry for the staunch Scotch Presbyterian.

The "big stone house" built by John Gilchrist on the Mt. Hope farm was a gathering place for early settlers for miles around when they met to discuss affairs of the community. One day a message traveled from house to house that a band of Indians were "on the war path and headed this way.” All the families hastily gathered at the big stone house, women and children for safety sake and men for defense ready to fight. (This was the New Ulm Massacre period.) About the third day a scout reported back. It was true, the Indians were on the warpath, but had passed on the east side of the Mississippi. So the frightened families returned to their homes. For the children, throughout their childhood, the thick stone walls of the house spelled fortress for them, with guns ready to shoot from every window.

Two early ministers of Mt. Hope married Ratcliffe daughters. Jane Anne Ratcliffe became Mrs. George Leonard, and Isabelle Ratcliffe became Mrs. Bird. Both ministers were Princeton University men.

Lottie Ratcliffe Albee of Portland Prairie has childhood memories of the actual building of Mt. Hope Church in 1870. She is now in her 94th year, and was not quite six years old when the church was built.

We could go on and on and mention other families who settled in this area and became affiliated with Mt. Hope; Beardmore, Wild, and Sadler, to name a few. The Weymiller family married into the Mt. Hope family in later years. The forefathers of these folks belonged to the rugged pioneers, who braved it across the ocean, and settled in this beautiful hill country, where God richly blessed them.

The mother of the Beardmores served as organist of Mt. Hope Church for over forty years. What a wonderful example of church loyalty.

Grandma Rose (Wild) Sadler, now lives in Waukon, and with her keen memory can relate very interesting things that happened in the days when Mt. Hope still was a young church.

Some of the Mt. Hope folks have held and are still holding responsible positions in civil life. One held the office of assemblyman, judge, sheriff, supervisor, and attorney, and one who resided in Chicago, was called "a man of letters”.

We think especially of the ten men whose graves are decorated with flags on Memorial Day. On the tombstone of one of these loyal service men it says, "fought in the war of 1812”. Mt. Hope was well represented when the call came to serve under the flag of our country.

As to the office held and the service rendered, the record of Mr. Benjamin Hartley is unique. He served as elder of Mt. Hope for 57 years, and was Sunday School Superintendent for 55 years.

We are thankful to Mrs. Allen Hartley, Mrs. Earl Beardmore and Mrs. Leo Pottratz for the material and records used to compile this brief but interesting history of a church that lived a hundred years of faith.

The dreams of the members of Mt. Hope have finally come true. For several years there were many dreams as to what should be done, and what might be done. We were handicapped in so many ways because of lack of room and of many inconveniences. There was much talk about more room inside, more parking room outside, landscaping on the grounds, etc. Committees were appointed and meetings were called, many of them long meetings, beyond midnight, at times when most of us were yawning.

At a meeting on August 19th last year the "go" sign was given, and on September 1st, the congregation adopted the building program. Thereafter there was much determination and action. Much hard work was wrought here, but today we joyfully reap the benefit of all the labor that was wrought, and of the contributions that have been made toward this project of remodeling the church. All of this, however, shall be dedicated to God, and to Him be all honor, praise and glory.

We shall now present the officers of Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church:

Moderator: Rev. Walter Martin of Postville
Supply Pastor: Rev. Edmond DeBuhr
Elders: Edward Wild, Earl Beardmore, Allen Hartley and Art Beardmore
Trustees: Alton Bulman, Grant Hartley and Leon Schoh
Mt. Hope Women's Association: Mrs. Hope Weymiller, President; Mrs. Harris Wild, Vice-President; Mrs. Art Beardmore, Treasurer; and Mrs. Lee Weymiller, Secretary
Sunday School: Mrs. Art Beardmore, Superintendent; Miss Greta Mohwinkle, Secretary & Treasurer; and Miss Delores Beardmore, Assistant Secretary & Treasurer
Music: Mrs. Allen Hartley, Organist; Miss June Weymiller, Assistant Organist; and
Mrs. Glen Beardmore, Choir Director

Much more could have been said, but time would not permit. There are sufficient records and enough material compiled through the years, so that a book could be written. May future generations add to what has been written in this brief history of Mt. Hope, perhaps at some other anniversary. Should any errors have crept into these few pages, please forgive. "To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Mt. Hope will live on in the faith of the forefathers. As to the present generation, we can truly say they are bringing honor to the heritage handed to them by their fathers and mothers. Men are sturdy workers and women are good housekeepers. Together they work and pray, and God has given His increase. Living among these beautiful hills, one cannot help but be aware of the presence of God.

May the members of Mt. Hope continue praying, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth”.

~source: 1958 Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church Centennial and Dedication Booklet
~transcribed by Errin Wilker



Excerpts from Mt. Hope Centennial Booklet (1858-1958)

by Rev. E. De Buhr
with thanks to Mrs. Allen Hartley, Mrs. Earl Beardmore, and Mrs. Leo Pottratz for material and records

Let us now learn where some of these old pioneers hailed from, who settled around Mt. Hope and English Bench. Francis Hartley and wife, Hebhzibeth (Hepzibah) were the first white people to settle on English Bench. They were from the village of Manea in England, some thirty miles north of London, where it is known he worked as foreman of a ditching gang on what they call, " The Upper Flats". They sailed for America in 1848, and landed at New York. It is also known that in a short time after landing, they were at Portage, Wisconsin. By the year 1853, they were plowing land on what is now English Bench; and had built themselves a small log house.

William Beardmore Sr. sailed from Liverpool, England for America on the 1st of February, in the year 1843. (1853) Mrs. Beardmore with three children, William, Agnes, and Alfred, followed in the fall of the year, settling in Wheeling, West Virginia, where they lived before coming to Union City Township, Allamakee County, in April 1865.

Along with his farming and blacksmithing, his two sons William and Alfred operated a Ferry Boat across the Iowa River, where the Dawson Bridge now stands.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Sadler) Beardmore, wife of William Beardmore Jr., served as organist at Mt. Hope Church over forty years, taking the place of Mrs. Agnes (Ratcliffe) Bellows who had been organist for many years in the early beginning of Mt. Hope Church. Mrs. Hepsie (Hartley) McClintock was Sunday School organist at this time.

Judge Thomas A. Beardmore, Captain in World War 1, is still serving as Circuit Judge. It was through his efforts that the English Bench and Mt. Hope cemeteries were organized for perpetual care. The English Bench Cemetery was platted in the early days before Mt. Hope Church was built. Theere are a large number of the early settlers buried on those burial grounds.

Two soldiers are buried in the English Bench Cemetery; namely, John Sires and Joseph Hartley. The following soldiers are buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery: John Dowling, James Singleton, Jacob H. Singleton, Jacob Singleton, Joseph Green, John Willamson, John W. Hartley and George Robinson.

John Sires came to this community at the early age of seven years. He came from Prince Town, Indiana, with his mother and step-father, William Bulman, in 1854. He was married twice, first to Sarah Duff, and later to Catherine Burroughs. His descendents, and those of the present generation, are very musically inclined and talented. They have served this community for many years with their talents by rendering music.

John W. Hartley, George W. Bulman, William Bulman, all born in Cambridgeshire, England, came to this country while very young, and settled in Allamakee County, and later raised large families.

Mrs. George Bulman, or Aunt Ann, as she was better known to all who have heard of her, has rendered a marvelous service to people of this area in their infirmities, when doctors and nurses were hard to get. No night was too dark or stormy for her to go to the bedside of a sick friend or neighbor. We today can hardly conceive what great sacrifices these good women have made when in the heat of the summer, and the cold of the winter they entered the homes, log houses, to minister unto those who were ill.

William Sadler was born in Cambridgeshsire, England and crossed the Atlantic in 1851, and settled in Indiana. He married Mary Bulman, also from Cambridgeshire. They started out for English Bench in search for her brothers Thomas and William. The story is told that they camped at the foot of the hill leading to the Bench (near what is now the Fred Bulman home) and discovered at daylight that they had stopped within a few rods of the home of the brothers.

George Bellows, Andrew Leppert, William Beardmore Jr., Benjamin Hartley, Leonard Bulman, and George Hartley have served as elders down through the years. Our present elders are listed on the last page of this booklet.

Some of the names of the old fathers immigrated into this area are no longer on the Mt. Hope Church roll. Some have moved out, but others have moved in and received into the congregation. After one hundred years of agricultural work it has become very evident that the hills are not only good to look at, but are also productive, where past generations have made a good living.

Another family that left the homeland to come to America were grandpa and grandma Bulman, who were married in England October 9, 1848. Thomas Bulman was born in "the round house" in England in (Little) Thetford, and his wife was born in Chatteris. They sailed from Liverpool October 31st, 1848 on the William Kent. They landed at New Orleans December 9th, 1848, where they stayed about a month; and then took a river boat to Evansville, Indiana. The boy, to pay the fare worked on the boat, taking the place of those that were sick with cholera. In 1854 they left Evansville to take up land in Winnebago Strip, where Francis Hartley then was. They traveled by wagon and team. They reached the banks of the Upper Iowa River on the morning of October 31, and forded the river near Mt. Hope bridge, that is, where the bridge is now located, and on the same day reached the log house of Francis Hartley on the east side of English Bench.

The name of a family; namely, Gilchrist, no longer known by the younger folks, was interwoven into the family relationship of English Bench and Mt. Hope areas.The name Gilchrist broken down becomes gil (boy) and Christ. At the time of the Crusades the boys who went on the Children's Crusade were known as Christ boys, and hence Gilchrist. A good ancestry for the staunch Scotch Presbyterian.

Two early ministers of Mt. Hope married Ratcliffe daughters. Jane Anne Ratcliffe became Mrs. George Leonard, and Isabelle Ratcliffe became Mrs. Bird. Both ministers were Princeton University men.

Present Officers

Elders: Edward Wild, Earl Beardmore, Allen Hartley, Art Beardmore
Trustees: Alton Bulman, Grant Hartley, Leon Schoh
Mt. Hope Women's Assoc.: Pres.: Mrs. Hope Weymiller, Vice Pres.: Mrs. Harris Wild , Treas.: Mrs. Art Beardmore, Sec.: Mrs. Lee Weymiller
Sunday School: Supt .: Mrs. Art Beardmore , Sec. and Treas.: Miss Greta Mohwinkle, Assis. Sec. & Treas. and Music: Miss Delores Beardmore
Organist: Mrs. Allen Hartley
Assistant Organist: Miss June Weymiller
Choir Director: Mrs. Glen Beardmore

~source: Mt. Hope Centennial Booklet (1858-1958)
~excerpts extracted & transcribed by Neva Auenson



Rural New Albin Church Dedicated

Mt. Hope Presbyterian - interior, 1972


Historic Mount Hope United Presbyterian Church in Union City Township near New Albin was the site of a dedication service and open house Sunday.

During the past 11 months, Mount Hope Church has been completely remodeled and new furnishings and appointments added. Most of the work on the church has been done by members of the 80-member congregation. Last summer, following the closing of the French Creek United Methodist Church, the Mount Hope congregation acquired the pews and chancel furniture from the French Creek building. The women of Mount Hope undertook the project of completely refinishing the 18 pews, a task involving nearly two months labor.

To the men of the congregation fell the task of remodeling the interior of the building. A new over-floor was installed, the wainscoting was replaced, and the upper walls covered with a hard-board wall covering resembling sawed stone. The entire sanctuary and foyer were then carpeted wall-to-wall in a basic green pattern.

Not everything in the church is new. A classic arch dominates the front of the sanctuary. The inside of the arch was covered in a textured fabric and a new worship-center added. The wooden pillars of the arch were refinished. For the worship-center, members of the congregation rebuilt the base of the large 75-year-old pulpit to serve as the worship table.

A Bible and two brass candlesticks rest on the worship table flanked by new seven-point floor candelabra. A lighted cross is suspended above the worship center from the arch. The 100-year-old walnut Communion table has been preserved for use as a free-standing table when the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is observed.

Several memorials have been presented to the church and were dedicated in the 10:30 a.m. service. At the same time the church building was rededicated and the congregation renewed its membership vows. An open house was held for the general public from 2 until 4 p.m. A fellowship reception was held in the basement Fellowship Hall during the open house. At 3 p.m. the Northern Allamakee Parish Youth Band presented a short concert on the church lawn.

In preparation for the dedication and open house, the members of the congregation also painted the exterior of the church. A new parking lot on the site of the former manse has been cleared for use on special occasions when the regular parking lot has proved too small.

The Mount Hope Church congregation was organized in 1858. The present building was erected in 1870 and dedicated in 1871. Recently, Mount Hope was given unique recognition by a denominational assembly as “the most picturesque church in the upper Midwest.” The white-frame building is located on the side of a 300 foot bluff overlooking the Upper Iowa River. Thick timber surrounding the church accents the white building and makes it clearly visible for several miles.

Rev. C. Kent Wever, minister of the Northern Allamakee Cooperative Parish, serves the congregation along with Saint John’s United Church of Christ and Grace United Methodist Church.

The church is located 11 miles southwest of New Albin on the hard-surfaced Upper Iowa River Road.

~La Crosse Tribune, La Crosse, WI, July 1972
~transcribed by Errin Wilker



Modern Circuit Rider Serves Rural Churches

By Wil Groves

C. Kent Wever, pastor of the Mount Hope United Presbyterian Church, is a modern day circuit rider. Besides the Mount Hope congregation, he serves two other rural churches around New Albin in northern Allamakee county. "This cooperative parish system is a unique situation because each church is a different denomination -- Presbyterian, Methodist and United Church of Christ. In most cases where several small churches share a minister, they're the same denomination," says Pastor Wever. "The system works well," he adds. "It's a fascinating experience. In working together, church members have found more similarities than differences between the denominations." All 3 churches use the same basic service with only slight variations made in them.

The Mount Hope Church was organized by 12 settlers in the 1850s. Most of the early congregation was of English descent and the area became known as the "English Bench." The present church was built in 1868 and has been in continuous use since then. Most of the church's 86 members, representing some 30 families, are descendants of the original founders. A veteran of the War of 1812 is buried in the cemetery next to the church.

Pastor Wever's great-great-grandfather was also a circuit rider in western Iowa. But times have changed since then. "It usually took him about two weeks to make a circuit," says Wever. "A lot of services were conducted for small neighborhood groups meeting in homes. He drove a horse and wagon from place to place. His pay was usually in the form of food or other provisions." Today, Wever makes the rounds to all three churches each Sunday morning. Services are staggered to give him a half hour to drive between churches. He covers 25 to 30 miles.

Iowa's rural churches have felt the effects of a declining population. Many have found they had to work out a cooperative parish program just to survive. Wever thinks the ones left are strong ones that will continue to fill a vital need. "Rural population in this area has stabilized and probably won't decrease much more in the next few years. The strong rural churches should continue."

"The church in general has changed its thinking over the past few years," comments Wever. "There was a period during the 1960s when the feeling was that a church had to be big to be good. But that has changed. Emphasis now is on maintaining the smaller church that really serves the needs of its members. "For example, all three of the churches I serve are the only ones left in the area.  The closest one to Mount Hope church closed two years ago."

From his pulpit, Pastor Wever can look out over a picturesque valley that changes almost weekly. He admits he sometimes has trouble keeping his mind on the sermon. "It's an inspirational view. It's hard to say which season is the prettiest," he says. "Of course, this area is known for its brilliant fall colors, but the crisp white snow in winter or the lush greens in spring or summer make the choice difficult."

"Standing up here, it's not hard to be convinced of the wonder of God's creation."

~source: Wallaces Farmer, October 13, 1973
~transcribed by Errin Wilker



Dedicate Cross on Mt. Hope Church

At the Mt. Hope United Presbyterian Church worship services, rural New Albin, on Sunday, May 25, the Rev. Milton Kading, the new pastor, dedicated the cross on the steeple, a memorial for Glenn Beardmore. Glenn was the son of Earl and Myrtle Beardmore and was born September 22, 1922 and died May 1, 1978. Many relatives were in attendance at the 9 a.m. service.

~source: Allamakee Journal, Lansing, May 1980
~transcribed by Errin Wilker



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