History - First Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)

Salida was two years old when meetings were held to organize a Christian-Disciple church for the town. These organizational meetings were not reported by The Mountain Mail but a history written in the 1910 church directory said 1882 was the year the church first organized.

The disciples met at the newly erected Dickmann Opera House on the corner of Second and F streets, which is the present site of Lallier Pharmacy. State evangelist Rev. T.J. Sharrard preached for the infant church for several months.

In 1885, the church met at the Ward School House on Third and D street, which is the present site of Salida's post office. The Disciple congregation believed they had gained enough members to warrant having their own church building.. It was incorporated on August 16, 1886, when the church purchased lots from Ira King, a prominent member of the Church. The lots were opposite the Methodist and Baptist churches on the corner of Fourth and D streets, our church's present site.

Salida's Christian Church was dedicated on May 13, 1888. The white frame building cost $1500. Jay Ramey remembers the white church had a baptistry underneath the floor. Before the church was built people had been baptized in the South Arkansas River.

By the end of 1906 the membership was becoming larger than the church could seat. In March of 1907 a congregational meeting was held to consider the building of a new edifice. The city Council received a petition from the Christian Church in August to erect a veneered building on their property and the right to veneer the old building to be used as a Sunday School room. The right to build was granted. The sanctuary was to be 42 x 42 feet and an alcove for the choir (12 x 20 feet) would be added to the sanctuary. A Sunday School room (23 x 32 feet) would be built which would become part of the sanctuary by raising roll-partitions. This provided seating for 600. This is basically the layout of the current sanctuary.

On May 10, 1908, the church was completed and dedicated. The building, including the furniture, cost $10,000. The contractor was S.J. England, a member of the Christian Church.

Stephen England, who was born and raised in Salida, preached a sermon entitled "Be Prepared" at the Salida church in February 1918. He had recently been ordained as a minister of the gospel. Stephen England preached again in March 1919. He then accepted a pastorate of the Christian Church in Mackville, Kansas. He went on to become Dean Emeritus of the College of the Bible of Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. He served as interim minister for Salida's church in July and August 1940.

In 1934, In order to have the money to make necessary repairs on the church building, the church decided not to hire a preacher for the summer. The congregation was shocked when they learned they needed a new church.

Shortly before 3pm on Friday, June 8, 1934, the church was discovered to be on fire. The walls began falling shortly after 3:30 p.m. Almost all the church records were destroyed. The Methodist Church and the house next to the Christian Church caught on fire a couple of times, but damage to these buildings was minor. The church fire was believed to have started in the lecture room.

The debris began being cleared by the FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration), a depression era government agency. The church had only $4000 insurance money, and they estimated it would cost $25,000 to rebuild the church. The fire did not completely destroy the basement. The inside stairway originally descended from the foyer down to where the junior classroom is now. The old kitchen is part of what is now the furnace room. Included in the remodeling of the basement was new plumbing and new kitchen cabinets. In June 1937 church services began being held in the reconstructed basement.

The Board of Church Extension of the Disciples of Christ told the Salida church in December it would finance the completion of the new Christian Church under a long term loan. The dedication was held on May 15, 1938 for the new church building. This is the same building we are in now. Renovations have been made from time to time to update it.

So much more was written about the history of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for 1882 to 2002, 120 years in the lives of many ministers and members. This history was written in loving memory of Theodore (Ted) Jacobs whose continuous giving through his trust fund has made possible the publication of this history. It was compiled by Alvin R. Edlund Jr., son of Alvin Edlund, minister from 1961 to 1989, with the help of Georgie Dallimore, Helen Ramey, Dottie Cowan, Jay Ramey, Ida Miller, Margaret Hardin, Helen Lingenfelter, Forrest Miller, Louise Childs, and Rev Edlund. Copies can be obtained upon request.