Church is 200 at Rockport

The congregation of Rockport United Methodist Church will celebrate its 200th anniversary at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The gospel group The Arkansans will perform and Bishop Gary Mueller of the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church will preach. A potluck will follow.

Lifelong member Olivia Pierce said the congregation marks 1816 as its beginning. A marker on the church grounds states that the first building was completed in 1836. The current building, although renovated several times over the years, still contains the log framework at its core.

According to Two Centuries of Methodism in Arkansas 1800-2000, the church building was moved to nearby Malvern in 1877. After the railroad bypassed the Rockport community, Malvern began to grow and many members of the church moved there so it was decided the church itself should be moved.

The book states, "According to a published history, the church was jacked up, placed on logs, and rolled into Malvern. In 1888, when the Malvern congregation decided to build a larger church, some Methodists in Rockport bought the old building and rolled it back home."

Pierce said the members bought the church back for $50.

The church marker also notes some famous visitors -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, visited the church in 1936 while in the state to celebrate its centennial.

Today the church has 57 members and Pierce said they are a dedicated group.

"We're still there and still working," she said. "I think that says a lot."

The church is at 1779 Lodge St., just off U.S. 270 in Rockport.

Religion on 10/22/2016

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