The Baghdad United Methodist Church is part of the Bagdad Village Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 (NRHP #87001991).
From the church’s web page:
Though local worshipers were included in the initial Methodist begun in Pensacola in 1821, members were unable to establish an active congregation in Bagdad, known then as Blackwater, until 1830. With a moss covered brush arbor for his sanctuary, Dr. John Wesley Talley, a former missionary to the Choctaws, delivered his sermons beside the Blackwater River. He baptized the converts within sight and sound of the waterfront church and happily accepted a salary of thirteen dollars for his first year’s work.
In 1837, a small wooden building was erected near the site and served as a house of worship until it was destroyed by fire in the early 1880s. Members of the congregation then worshiped with the local Presbyterians and prayed for God’s guidance as they planned for the future.
The present sanctuary was begun in 1885 on the site given for that purpose by W. H. Sindorf, H. W. Thompson and W. A. Watson, who were members of the church and also partners in the Bagdad Sash and Blind Factory. The first worship service was held in the unfinished building in September of that year when seventy members and their families joined Reverend E. E. Cowan for a great day of Thanksgiving.
Charles H. Overman drew the unique architectural design for the new house of worship, and the building, made of choice lumber from Bagdad mills, took shape under the direction of A. J. Brown. The structure remains a source of pride for those who worship within its walls today, more than a century later. Visitors, too, note that the shiplap pattern of the outside boards is held in place by square cut nails, and the underpinning is held securely by wooden pegs. The delicate, lacy woodwork around the porch and eaves was cut by hand and put in place by those who also lifted the huge brass bell to its place in the latticed tower. Oil lamps gave light for evening services, and a huge wood-coal heater provided warmth from its place between the pews.
As the congregation began its ministry in the new church, Mr. Brown, the carpenter, became the first Sunday School Superintendent. Mr. Henry Thompson succeeded him and served in that position for forty years. Miss Jane Andrews, the first organist, was also the first bride to be married in the sanctuary. She and Everett Green were wed on January 29, 1887. The next wedding took place on Valentine’s Day of 1893 when Mr. Brown’s daughter, Fanny, became the wife of John Tinsley.
In 1909, the little sanctuary was wired for electricity with power supplied by a small dynamo engine in the Gang Mill of the local Simpson Company. Money to finance the project was earned by women of the Ladies Aid Society who sold their handmade quilts for three dollars each.
When lightening struck the church on July 7, 1912, considerable damage was done to the steeple and bell tower. The bell itself was cracked, and since repairs could not restore its tone quality, a new bell was purchased from a West Virginia foundry. That bell has since summoned worshipers to services each Sunday for almost eighty-nine years.
