Corbin Church History by Olive Smith

A church history by Olive Smith was written for the History of Sumner County Kansas published in 1987 for The Caldwell Messenger by Curtis Media Corporation, reproduced here with permission of Pat Weber for The Caldwell Messenger.

  Earliest church services in the Corbin area were conducted by circuit riders from the Wellington Circuit of the Methodist Episco­pal Church, South. The actual organization of a church occurred in 1884. On September 8, 1884 two lots were purchased for $30, and in 1890 it was reported that the church had been erected, free of debt and insured at a value of $1125. By 1894 a parsonage had been built - value $500.

 With only one other M.E. Church, South remaining in southern Kansas on November 1, 1914, the Corbin congregation changed to the Methodist Episcopal Church. A new building was erected on the site in 1918 and dedicated May 11, 1919.

 In the late 1920's the Chikaskia M.E. Church combined with the Corbin church. That building was dismantled in 1940 and the lumber used to rebuild the Corbin parsonage. This house was sold in 1971 after Corbin and Caldwell became a two-point charge.

 In 1939 church union brought together nationwide the M.E. Church, the M.E. Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Church and all became simply The Method­ist Church.

 The Brethren Church in Corbin dosed and was torn down in 1939. The bell was given to the Methodists, and it is now mounted in the masonry name sign in front of the church. In 1949 the Lone Star School building was purchased and moved-in for a church annex. Major renovation of the church was done in 1962.

 Groundbreaking ceremonies for the pres­ent educational unit were held November 1, 1964. Most of the construction was done by local members volunteering their time and labor. The building cost was $23,000. Conse­cration services were held April 24, 1966 with Area Bishop W. McFerrin Stowe present. The mortgage was burned during the Dedica­tion Service on October 5, 1969.

 In 1968 with the union nationwide of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church the local church name was changed to Corbin United Methodist Church.

 In 1976 a new sanctuary was built adjacent to the educational unit at a cost of approximately $75,000. Consecration services were held November 28, 1976. The Dedication highlighted the Centennial Celebration October 14, 1984.

 by Olive Smith