© Copyright 2009 Lickley's Corners Baptist Church. All Rights Reserved
If the antique bell at Lickley’s Corners Baptist Church could ring out the history of the building, what a tale it would have to tell. The building has sheltered many congregations from sun and wind, snow and rain. A variety of worshippers have sat inside its four walls and rejoiced and repented, laughed and cried.
The building has not always been at the corner of Lickley and Tamarack Roads, and it has not always housed a Baptist congregation. It began its history as a Congregational church.
Men of the Congregational Church of South Jefferson built their small country church from native timber in 1844. A member commented, “We raised nothing much but weeds in our fields that summer, but we had our church." For many years the building served the needs of that congregation, but by 1943 the church had been sitting idle for fifteen years. During that time it had been a home for honeybees, goats and rabbits.
God was not yet finished with the building that farmers had sacrificed to build in 1844. A Methodist church at Lickley’s Corners was in desperate need of a house of worship. On April 7, 1943, lightning struck their church steeple. The Waldron fire department extinguished the flames, but another fire began later. It is thought that spontaneous combustion of grass, carried by birds into the loft, caused the second fire, which destroyed the building.
The building has not always been at the corner of Lickley and Tamarack Roads, and it has not always housed a Baptist congregation. It began its history as a Congregational church.
Men of the Congregational Church of South Jefferson built their small country church from native timber in 1844. A member commented, “We raised nothing much but weeds in our fields that summer, but we had our church." For many years the building served the needs of that congregation, but by 1943 the church had been sitting idle for fifteen years. During that time it had been a home for honeybees, goats and rabbits.
God was not yet finished with the building that farmers had sacrificed to build in 1844. A Methodist church at Lickley’s Corners was in desperate need of a house of worship. On April 7, 1943, lightning struck their church steeple. The Waldron fire department extinguished the flames, but another fire began later. It is thought that spontaneous combustion of grass, carried by birds into the loft, caused the second fire, which destroyed the building.
The few remaining members of the Congregational Church of South Jefferson offered their building to the Lickley’s Corners Methodists in 1943. Clyde Boyd of Quincy Michigan moved the building on September 19th, 1944. The move was delayed for several hours on Squawfield Road when it was discovered that the steeple was too tall to pass under the high-tension wires. Two men from the congregation removed the steeple so the building could continue its journey.
In her “Historical Statement” Mrs. Kate W. Lickly told of the reaction of the community to the move. “Residents all along the way hailed, ‘Hats off! The church is passing by!’”
Men and women alike had helped to rebuild the foundation wall at the corner of Lickley and Tamarack Roads. After the church was set on its foundation, members of the congregation removed bees and repaired broken glass. The building became the First Methodist Church of Wright Township.
On a Sunday morning in 1954 the building was damaged by fire caused by a faulty furnace, and the floor had to be replaced.
The Methodist congregation left the building the last Sunday in September, 1969, when their membership was automatically transferred to the Osseo United Methodist Church.
Another group, the New Jerusalem Shelter, used the building for a short time. Once again it stood empty until it was purchased and repaired by the Lickley’s Corners Baptist Church congregation on December 13, 1972. The congregation had been organized in February 1970 and incorporated September 17th, 1970. They held services in the Lickley’s Corners Grange until the church building was ready to use. Walls of the old building were scraped and painted. The furnace was repaired and converted to LP gas, and floors and woodwork were cleaned.
Rev. G. Howard Hein was the first pastor of the church and served faithfully until he retired. Pastor John J. Poole came to the church in July of 1974, and pastors still at this time.
In 1995 the church completed the addition of a new wing that is used for classrooms. Presently a new septic system is being installed, and plans are underway to build a new fellowship hall when the Lord provides.
The congregation at Lickley’s Corners loves and appreciates their 165-year-old white country church. They know, however, that a church is far more than a building. A church is composed of men, women, boys and girls who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour from sin. Yes, the building is old, but the faith they cherish is far older. They believe that the Bible is inspired by the Word of God, that Jesus, God’s Son, died to save sinners and rose again, and that all people need to have a personal faith in the Lord Jesus to have hope of eternal life.
Visitors at the church are welcome at any service!
The congregation at Lickley’s Corners loves and appreciates their 165-year-old white country church. They know, however, that a church is far more than a building. A church is composed of men, women, boys and girls who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour from sin. Yes, the building is old, but the faith they cherish is far older. They believe that the Bible is inspired by the Word of God, that Jesus, God’s Son, died to save sinners and rose again, and that all people need to have a personal faith in the Lord Jesus to have hope of eternal life.
Visitors at the church are welcome at any service!
In 1986 The Lickley’s Corners Community Friendship Club gave their building, an old one-room school, to the church. It is presently used as a fellowship hall.
