Facing Tomorrow, Understanding Yesterday, A History of Orange ...

Other longtime Orange Church members remembered meeting in
thatsecond one-room structure. Mabel Maddry and Margaret Link, for
instance,recalled that the interior of the old frame church was very small.
Thechoir sat on the right side of the pulpit, and the Amen Corner was
locatedon the left. The latter was populated by men of the church who
weremost likely to vocally express their feelings during the service.
Other men sat near them, with their wives sitting separately. This
segregationof the sexes was customary during the early years of the
church,and the 1841 roll lists male and female members on different
pages- even when they were married to one another. The family concept
forwhichOrange Church has become so well known obviously was quite
differentin its early days.
Pewsfor the congregation went up against the wall on both sides. Two
largeposts, about four inches square, stood midway in the room, and a
smalliron stove occupied the center of the room, although that was later
movedto the right-hand comer. "We didn't have any stained glass
windows,and the pulpit wasn't as high as it is now," said "Miss" Mabel
Maddry,who was born a Freeland and grew up on Airport Road land
oppositethe church that is now occupied by Duke Power. In addition,
"Miss"Mabel recalled, 'There was a little old table that was used as a
communiontable and the railing around our present pulpit is the same
onethat was used in the old church. We had wooden steps, not cement."
Margaret Link, who also grew up in the church, supplements "Miss"
Mabel'srecollections. ''When I was a little bitty girl," she said, "they had
abookcasein front of the pulpit, right in the center of the church, and the
ministerused this to put the Bible on and any notes he had. The bookcase
wasfilledwith books, and when they tore the old church down, they took
thosebooks, I have been told, and stored them in the attic of one of the
workers'homes, and they never could locate those books" later on.
Landfor the church came from Alexander Gattis, Sr., a ruling elder
intheNewHope Presbyterian Church, and Thomas King, each of whom
deededtwo acres of land to the Orange Church trustees on October 31,
1836. Initialtrustees were William Robson, Isaac]. Collier, Jones Watson,
AbijahHatch, James Gattis, Daniel Hogan, Wesley Snipes, Jacob Potts,
andWilliamGattis.
Early church fathers ensured Orange Church's growth in special
ways.In the nineteenth century, for instance, homes and institutions,
suchas Orange Church, needed access to outside sources of water in
orderto survive and prosper. The congregation was assured access to a
springabout one-fourth of a mile northeast of the church. Dr. Charles
Maddry,who once owned the farm east of the church, recalled that when
thatland came into the Maddry family, the deed included provisions to
ensurethat Orange Church had a steady and reliable supply of water. The
springthat served this function also was the source of water for the
WilliamC. Freeland home for many years until a well was dug there.
Waterwas brought to the church from the spring and well in buckets.
Duringbig meetings or for dinners held at the church, a large wooden
barrelwith a spigot was filled with water from the Freeland place for use
bythe congregation.
Evenduring its earliest years, Orange Church played a special role in
the development of Methodism in the community. Even though the
church was three miles out of town, it was the preferred place for
Methodistsin Chapel Hill to worship with others of their faith. In fact, the
CarrboroMethodist Church history refers to the historic Orange Church
as "the mother church of Methodism in this immediate vicinity." The
situationbegan changing in 1840, when Charles F. Deems, a New Jersey
Methodistpastor, arrived on the scene. At first sponsored by the American
Bible Society, Deems often preached at Orange Church. By the
summerof 1840, Deems and presiding elder Peter Doub conducted a
seriesofcamp meetings."
FACING TOMORROW, UNDERSTANDING YESTERDAY 7
Orange Church Group Picture
First Frame Building
Mabel Maddry
Margaret Burch Link