The First United Methodist Church occupies the site that until 1884 was the location of the Methodist Episcopal church built in 1873. That building caught fire in several places, but heroic action by the pastor and a crew of volunteers saved it from destruction. Described as a"big barn of a building", the church provided space for school classes and for worship for the congregations who had lost their buildings. The present church was built in 1893, replacing the one that was there in 1884.