PagePedia™
History
Segments Presented by Lyle Harvey
CHURCHES OF THE PAGE, NEBRASKA AREA
(Read at the Page Methodist Church on July 27, 2008)
The first organized church in this area
was held in the sod schoolhouse known as Pleasant Valley that was built
in 1883. The location was a half-mile south of the present town of Page.
Services in this building were non-denominational.
The second church to be organized was
also the first to have it’s own building. This church was known
as the Maxfield Church and was located on the corner east of where Nina
Sorensen now lives and in the same 160 acres. The Maxfield church was
a Methodist Church and served the Page area well until the early 1930’s.
The church was then closed and dismantled. However, it is believed that
there are still two graves in the immediate vicinity that were interred
just south of the church building.
The third church to be organized was
the Lambert Church. The Lambert Presbyterian Church was organized in
October 1877 and was located four miles east of Page. It sat in the
northeast corner of the intersection in the southwest corner of the
quarter now owned by Eugene and Trudy Elsberry. This church was attended
by the following families; Baxters, Wests, Farnsworths, Wood, Peltz,
Porter, Nickels and Davis. The church dwindled in membership over time
and was moved to Page in 1916 and closing forever in 1935. The Lambert
Cemetery is still in use today.
The fourth church to be organized was
the Page United Methodist Church. This church building was built in
1897 and was dedicated on June 26, 1898. In 1902, the parsonage was
built just east of this church. In 1910 thru 1913, a new concrete block
church was erected on the site of the parsonage after the parsonage
had been moved north of the new church location. The new Methodist Church
as we know it today was added on to in 1956. The entire building was
remodeled in 1958 and the old concrete block was veneered with new bricks.
Dedication of the facility was held in 1961.
The fifth church to be organized in
the Page area was the Wesleyan Methodist Church. It originally was affiliated
with the Venus Church. Venus was a small town about 8 miles northeast
of Page. This church was started after a one-room schoolhouse was moved
to the west part of Page. This building was remodeled several times.
This church closed in the early 1990’s and was burned to the ground
approximately three years ago.
The Page Methodist Church has served
the community very well during the past one hundred and ten years. It
has been a reliable influence during this time and has served the community
well. In turn, residents of this community have donated their time,
money and efforts to keep this church in good repair and in good faith.
We all can be very proud of the legacy provided by the Page Methodist
Church and all of its past pastors and members.
Lyle Harvey
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