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Howard’s First Church
Howard’s First Church
Beginning in 1889, the Free Methodists met in various homes around Howard. The church you see was built in 1898. W.H. Latham, who held a local preacher’s license, was the first minister of the church. Latham was a pioneer resident of the area, coming here in 1881. He was a man of many talents and was an accomplished harpist, could play the accordion and doubled as the church musician.
During its first four years, the church seemed to be quite prosperous. However, during the Great Depression church economics worsened. The pastor at that time announced his in tention of auctioning off the building, which was not his to begin with. On the morning of the auction, the assembled crowd came prepared. However, rather than shouting out bids, they began throwing rotten eggs at the minister. After that incident, the Free Methodist Church conveyed the property to the Howard Union Sunday School Church Board for a reported $200.
In 1999 the deed was transferred to the Western Fremont Historical Society and the building is now a small WFHS museum/history center.
