The Hillsdale Church was first organized on June 16, 1860. It was the Mt. Olive Mission in Mt. Olive, Iowa. It was first organized by William Tipton and meetings were held in the schoolhouse. Later, part of Mt. Olive was destroyed by a storm, and the church was moved to Louden in 1864. Meetings were again held in the schoolhouse. In the 1860's the church became connected with the Silver City Circuit.

When the Methodist Church of Louden moved to the new town of Hillsdale, they held services in the homes of their members, and later in the depot. In 1873, they built a church home with the following members: Luke Tipton, Mary Tipton, Saul Tipton, F. M. Wilson, Daniel Shuman, Mary Shannon, J. M. McKesson and wife, John Day and wife, John Bratton and wife, George Foster and Agnes Foster, and Jane Wilson. The land, which the church was built on, was given by Anthony Dillehay. Isaac Kelly had offered some of his land on the other side of the road, but the church board preferred the land on the hill.

The new church was built, by carpenters, H. R. Ivory and Mr. Hitchcock of Tabor. On Sunday, February 8, 1874 the new building was dedicated as the Hillsdale Methodist Protestant Church by E. S. Brown of the Iowa Methodist Conference. Rev. Daily was the pastor at the time.

The first wedding was held three weeks later, on February 22nd. Horace Brooks and Agnes Van Orsdell were united in marriage.

Source: adapted from History of Mills County Iowa, 1985~ transcribed by Karyn Techau