Historical Facts
Smithfield’s Centenary United Methodist Church was founded in 1839. It was an outgrowth of a powerful camp meeting near the Neuse River conducted by “preachers on horseback,” Methodism’s famed traveling evangelists.
The money needed to build the first Methodist church in Smithfield was pledged by local people. They signed their names and specified amounts ranging from 25 cents to $300. These people built a frame church on North Second Street, about two blocks north of the present location.
The first Sunday School (which they called Sabbath School) at this church was begun in the 1840’s. It has been active ever since, except for a while at the end of the Civil War, after General Sherman’s army marched through and occupied Smithfield. Union soldiers used the church (then located on North Second Street) as a hospital, and some of the church’s property was damaged during April of 1865.
During most of the 1800’s, local preachers were paid little cash: farm produce (hams, corn, wheat, etc.) was used as payment. Some preachers stayed only one year; some stayed up to six years. We have had over 60 different preachers since 1839. Methodists traditionally move preachers from place to place in a system called itineracy.
Smithfield Methodists bought the lot on the SW corner of Market and Second Street in 1912. Before that time, a combination hotel-tavern had stood there. The new church built on the lot was first used for a worship service on July 4, 1914.
Centenary United Methodist Church was built in an architectural style called “the Akron plan.” It has a copper-covered dome on top and the sanctuary and balcony are rounded, thus creating an intimate setting that has very good acoustics. Other “Akron plan” churches are in Clayton, Burlington, New Bern and elsewhere.
Centenary was so named because it was founded in 1839, the centennial of the founding of Methodism. North Carolina has at least three other United Methodist churches named Centenary: in Winston-Salem, New Bern, and Mt. Ullna near Salisbury.
Wesley Hall was added to the original building in 1972. The education building, named to honor longtime diaconal minister Richard Williams, was completed in the 1980s. It was especially designed to complement and merge with the 1914 sanctuary, a beautiful and sacred place filled with historical significance.
Until it was damaged in a fire in the 1950’s, the parsonage was located behind Wesley Hall. The present parsonage is on Crescent Drive in South Smithfield.
The land for the parking lot facing Market Street was a gift from Nuit and Lillian Williams, who had owned an auto dealership located on that site. Future plans include razing the building on the corner of Front and Market and the construction of a family life center.
