churchhistory1

    In 1915 memorial windows were placed in the church and the inside was frescoed at a cost of $352.00. Rev. C. H. Hastings was the pastor in charge at the time.

     The next improvement was the addition of a Sabbath School room and a Mother's room with basement, new seating, furninshings, and additional memorial windows in the Sunday School room in 1920. The excavation was done by Howard and Philip Coale using horses and scoops. Rev. C. H. Corkan was the pastor at the time.

     In 1927, lightning struck the church destroying the ceiling. Many of the members tell stories of the electricity from the lightning going through some of the people and burning stockings and shoes. March 31, 1928, saw the steel ceiling installed and painting of the inside of the church proper. Rev. Bert Constance was pastor at the time. This improvement cost $300.00.

     The cemetery stirred a lot of interest in 1929. Minutes of a Trustee meeting dated May 15, 1929 indicate that the space available for new graves was running out, so an agreement was made with the Bodt family to recieve additional land to be used for a cemetery on the condition that grave stones from a private cemetery on the farm be placed in the Smith's Chapel cemetery. Since most of the family names on those stones are Smith and Smith was the name of the family that originally owned the church land, it is speculated that the stones were markers for descendants of Col. Smith.

     In 1929 discussion was started related to dividing the large East Harford Circuit into two smaller circuits. Discussino continued through 1930 and included plans to find land for a new parsonage somewhere in the Churchville area. On October 1, 1930, land was purchased for a parsonage in Churchville from Mr. John W. Hamilton and his wife. The architect, Herbert R. Frantz, prepared drawings and oversaw the bid preparations during December of 1930. July 3, 1931, is the date on the Electrical Certificate for the parsonage. Sometime shortly sfter that, Rev. Thomas Ehler and his family became the first parsonage family in the new parsonage.

In 1932 the women's group at the church was called the Ladies' Aid Society. The trustees were incorporated in 1932 in accordance with the requirements of The Discipline of The Methodist Church and the laws of Maryland. Water was piped into the church kitchen from the parsonage well in 1932. Repair work to the memorial windows was done in 1935. That same year the Trustees asked local police to speak with some neighborhood children who were causing disturbances during church meetings. In August of 1935 the Trustees granted permission to the Sunday School to dig a cesspool for the kitchen drainage.

The year 1936 was a busy year for building improvements. New steps were erected at the entrance of the church, the basement was enlarged, and plans were made to have furnace heat and electric lights. The Valiant Council of the Youth Temperance Council began holding meetings here in 1936. The purpose of this council was to encourage abstinence for the use of alcoholic beverages. Rev. Warner was the pastor at this time. He would later go into full-time ministry with the Youth Temperance Council.

Furnace heat became a reality in 1937 when a coal burning furnace from the Holland Furnace Company was installed. Total renovations cost $8,000.00. In May of 1936 the minutes of the Quarterly Conference notes those who helped with the basement renovation. Included was Worley Tibbs. It should also be noted that the W.H.O. class was instrumental in having the lighting installed in the sanctuary.

Other building activity in 1937 included a new set of front doors installed by D. Edgar Coale in October and the assumption of 43% of the parsonage mortgage from the rest of the churched on the charge.

In January of 1939 the Epworth League, the young people's group of the church, asked for permission to improve the basement Church School roome, inside walls, drainage of water from the basement and landscape the lawn of the church. The Trustees took landscaping under further consideration for more definite plans. That same year the W.H.O. donated the carpet for the isle in the sanctuary. The outside of the church was painted by contractor Arthur Mahan. Chancel furniture was donated in 1939. Lumber and materials were also purchased to construct a file cabinet - cost was $1.79. The Treasurer's Report notes that between June 1, 1938 and May 31, 1939 postage spent was 89 cents. Utilities cost $21.47 for that same time period.

The Methodist Church was formed in 1939 from a merger of The Methodist Episcopal Church, The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and The Methodist Protestant Church. In April of 1940 the name of the church was voted on. Smith's Chapel Methodist Church and Cemetery passed with 21 affirmative and six negative votes.