A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

The Oaks was once the home and convent of this church. The order sold The Oaks and moved intothe original, separate carriage house. Members of this faith have Serbian/Yugoslavian roots. Followers ofthe Gregorian calendar, they celebrate Christmas on January 6, following traditional customs of theirhomeland.The United Methodist Church 14During April 1908, Mr. Ed. Bohnett met Mr. W. S. Norris in Cumminsville to have a friendly chat.During the conversation Mr. Bohnett asked Mr. Norris if he was still constructing Sunday school andchurch buildings. With Mr. Norris’s positive answer, the question arose about building a church inCollege Hill.As a result of a canvas, the committee found only one local United Brethren member, Mrs. EdithTaylor, who was a member of the Bevis-Dunlap circuit of the United Brethren church. But the canvasalso showed that there was great interest in establishing a Sunday school in the College Hill community.The committee members went to Mr. Newbold Pierson, then in the real estate business, to secure alot in a convenient place. Among the lots that Mr. Pierson described were two located in the eastern sideof College Hill, where the present church now stands.These two lots were once part of the plat owned by Samuel F. Cary in 1892. Two of the streets inthis plot were Woodward and Lincoln, which today are Marlowe and Salvia Avenues. Later Mr. Cary’sdaughter, Jessie, transferred the plot to other owners, one of which was Newbold L. Pierson.Mr. Pierson donated these lots to the community, and during the summer of 1908 a little church wasbuilt.In Feb. 1912 the little church was moved to the lot next to where the present church is located. InApril 1912 the ground was broken for the present church building. In Oct. 1912 the corner stone was laidand the building completed in Aug. 1913 at 1449 Marlowe Avenue. The Norris Memorial UnitedBrethren Church was well established, and the ladies of the church served their first meal to thoseattending the annual conference at the new church.In 1915 the church was remodeled. Mr. W. Forbes did the carpentry, assisted by John Sevester andEdward Mendenhall, painters. Much of the electrical work was done by J. M. Harrell, who also did theelectrical installations in the newly built homes on the surrounding streets. During the following year theparsonage (now Christ’s Community in College Hill) was purchased.Early in 1940 a new chancel was built with the help of a good architect, Mr. Karl Abel, who is amember of the present congregation. The original church had been used as the Sunday school and thehome for the janitor and was torn down to build the two story education unit on that site. The newbuilding was connected to the church building’s east side and was dedicated in 1958.A new parsonage, located at 6629 Orleans Court, was dedicated on Sunday, April 9, 1967. Rev.William D. Worth was the pastor at that time.In April 1968 the Evangelical United Brethren Church in the United States, and the MethodistChurch United in Dallas, Texas, combined. Thus the little church started in 1908 is today named theCollege Hill United Methodist Church.Currently, Rev. Shirley A. Landis is pastor, and Rev. Landis leads her congregation in Sundayworship services in the church’s sanctuary that contains 17 stained glass windows with the followingdedications: north windows - In memory of H. Geo. & Sarah J. Sherman, In memory of Walter Jr. &Emily Norris, Mr. & Mrs. W. H. Forbes, H. G. Pounsford; east windows - In memory of Mr. & Mrs.Louis Fink, In memory of Henry B. Corbett, A. J. Spence & wife, Rev. R. M. Fox & wife, In memory ofMrs. Mina Reeves & Mrs. Barbara Forbes; south windows - In memory of Mrs. Martha Taylor, Given byMiss Virgie Betscher & Miss Malinda Miller; west windows - Mr. & Mrs. Martin V. Wert, In memory ofRobert H. Glass, Mr. & Mrs. R. E. Gough, In memory of James J. Eiler & George L. Eiler, Alvin L.Sadler & family.14 Written by Sheridan E. Yelliott, church historian, College Hill United Methodist Church, 1990.202