Hickory Grove Advent Christian Church closes, June of 2015

WILEY, HOLDEN, MARSHALL, MOSBAGER, FILLMORE, FORESTER, GLENDENNING, HUGHES, NEAL

Posted By: Sharon R. Becker (email)
Date: 9/21/2015 at 23:59:53

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, June 04, 2015, Page 1

Hickory Grove Church to close

The Hickory Grove Advent Christian Church in Middle Fork township will hold a celebration service this Sunday, June 7 to mark the closing of the church which was dedicated in 1880. The final service at Hickory Grove will take place June 21. Local historian Mike Avitt provides a brief history of the Hickory Grove church in his Snapshots of History column appearing on page 18 of this week's Record-News.

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Snapshots of History
By Mike Avitt

The Hickory Grove Advent Christian Church in Middle Fork Township was dedicated January 13, 1889 and will hold its last service June 21, 2015. A celebration service will be held June 7, 2015 with Pastor Sherry Wiley conducting the service. I hope you (and I) can make it.

I wrote an article about the Hickory Grove Church in my book, "Pages and Pictures from the Past: Ringgold County, Iowa 1855 - 2005."

J. E. Holden chronicled the history of the church from its beginning and his account appears in the March 16, 1939 edition of the Mount Ayr Record-News. This history was written in connection with the church's 50th anniversary.

The church was built in 1888 and the earliest burial I found for the adjoining cemetery is 1887. The land for the parsonage was donated by Isaac Marshall, the same man who donated the land for the church site and cemetery. The native logs were sawed at John Mosbarger's sawmill and Edler H. D. Fillmore was the first pastor to occupy the new residence in 1902.

Elder Forester was the first preacher and many followed. Notable ministers were Tommie Glendenning, C. A. Hughes, and Dennis Neal. These preachers often shared their time with the Jackson Advent Christian Church, a rural church across the Missouri line to the south.

In 2005, a mobile home was attached to the south portion of the church for a kitchen, Sunday School rooms and indoor toilets.

With the closing of Hickory Grove, Ringgold County will have three rural churches left: Tent Chapel, Wishard Chapel, and Middle Fork United Methodist Church in Middle Fork Township.

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News
Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2015

Ringgold Documents maintained by Tony Mercer.
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