Ghost Churches of Franklin County
Sponsored By The Franklin County Historical Society; Printed in 1976
Chapin Congregational Church
A Reverend Wilcox conducted the first services at "Old Chapin" which were said to be the first services in Franklin County, in 1857. He came from Iowa Falls every two weeks and held a 5 o'clock P. M. service in the schoolhouse.
About this time, a man by the name of J. W. Avery, met Rev. J. B. Grinnell near his home town in Poweshiek County. Rev. Grinnell suggested that Avery go to the "Paradise Location" which was located north of Tharp's Grove, in Franklin County. Avery did as he was advised, knowing that his brother, Reverend William P. Avery, living in the east, was not permanently located. This is how Rev. William P. Avery came to Chapin, Iowa.
Soon after his arrival in 1858, Reverend Avery organized the Congregational Church and was its pastor until 1875. He began regular services for his flock in a small shanty built for the purpose. Then for a time services were held in a building which would be converted into a barn in the winter and a csnool and church in the summer. The building belonged to one John D. Leland, In 1871, a combination school and church was built in Old Chapin. Charter members of this Chapin Congregational Church were Mr. and Mrs. William P. Avery, Mrs. A.S. Ross, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Leland, and Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Lovering and their two daughters. The church was considered the best in Franklin County at the time it was built, and it was thought at that time that the "Old Chapin" charge would be a larger body than Hampton's, but it proved to be otherwise. The church building was destroyed by fire in 1877.
Rev. Avery's salary was not more than $500.00 a year. Farmers helped to meer the budget by paying with things they raised. One person pleged $5.00 and it was paid in sorghum at fifty cents a gallon.
After the new Town of Chapin was platted, the new town started to grow and the "Old Chapin" started to get smaller. When the railroad came in 1883, the services were moved to what is now the Town of Chapin, where services were held in the Town Hall until a new building could be erected.
In the same year, Jacob Heuberger, who owned land in the new town, donated some to the church and a Congregational Church was built. Articles of Incorporation were filed on September 17, 1889, with Trustees W. J. Adams, W. D. F. Randolph, A. B. Weaver, Geo. Rhutasel, and Jacob Heuberger.
On March 24, 1917, Jacob and Lizzie Heuberger deeded the South Half of Lot 66, Chapin, to the Board of Trustees for the sum of One Dollar.
In 1925 and 1926, the church building was raised and a basement constructed. A new chancel, new alter and carpet were included in the repairs.
There were a total of 32 ministers who served this church but the only ones of record were Rev. H. H. Schowe, 1958, presiding at the centennnial celebration; Rev. Lyman Church, H. H. Wintermeyer, Geo. LaBounty, and the Rev. William P. Avery.
On July 30, 1961, the church closed its doors, and later on the property was sold to Greimann Bros. As of this date, 1976, the building still stands.
*~*~*