First Presbyterian Church, 302 W Main St, Chanute, KS 66720, US

HistoryWhat is now called the First United Methodist Church began with just 16 people in the late 1860's. They worshiped in a rented 14 foot square shack consisting of rough boards with no roof. Two men, Frank Phillips, a farmer, and Johnny LeConje, a French frontier preacher, became self-appointed ministers. In 1871 the small congregation decided to move within the city limits of New Chicago. Their ministers were two Methodist circuit riders. Their place of worship was an unfinished store room on Main and Evergreen, and later Lakins Hall, a building located at the same intersection. The church was built in 1871 on a lot donated by Col. John C. Carpenter on the southeast corner of North High and Seventh Streets (now Highland and Walnut). The church was chartered on June 29, 1871 and received their first appointed pastor, Rev. G.W. Pye. The one-room frame building was white and trimmed in green complete with a belfry. The 1890's were a time when Chanute had 13 saloons and open gambliSpecialtiesMaking Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World