The history of Mt. Holly
In the Beginning
Mt Holly Christian Chapel was founded in 1828 in Amelia, OH. The Christian Chapel Church was organized by elder John T. Powell. The congregation began with 10 charter members and up until 1854 was served solely by elders.
In 1855 the house was sold for $6.00 and a lot bought for $25.00. On the lot erected the sanctuary of the church. Next to the church was a shed used to shelter the horses while the people worshipped. The church was the center of their lives and was used for worship as well as social activities. Sunday school was held in each of the corners of the building. Fancy oil chandeliers lit the way and the building as heated by two wood burning stoves. One located on the east wall and one on the west wall. Twenty three pastors served the church in its first 70 years. In that time frame the church and a membership of 100 and 5 of its members entered the ministry. The church avoided debt yet was a liberal contributor to the community.
During this time the first and only woman minister was Mrs. Athella Howshare. During her pastorate the church celebrated its centennial in 1928. In 1929 the Christian Chapel merged with the Congregational Church. In this time 3 other members joined the ministry. During the depression of the thirties 6 area churches joined forces. They were Mt. Holly, Hamersville, Higginsport, Pt. Isabel, Antioch, and Mt. Zion. They became the Christian Fellowship Parish. In 1983 Bantam Presbyterian joined the parish and it became the first interdenominational church of the state. At that time, membership at Mt. Holly was 150.
Due to the limited space and money, the youth fellowship led by Mrs. Edora Tarvin purchased war stamps and war bonds until enough money was saved to build the fellowship hall. It was designed and built so that as additional funds were available a second story to house classrooms and an office could be added. Ninety percent of the labor was donated by members of the church. Some of these laborers of the late 40’s and 50’s were, Harold Tarvin, Charles Wolf, Gordon King, Bob Channell, John Hensgen, Naaman Ellis, Bud Dieterman, and BIll Gabriel. Another fundraiser for this addition was serving meals at the sale barn in Williamsburg. The 50’s also saw the addition of the vestibule also built by the men of the church and a few of those men also constructed lights which hung in the church. One hundred and thirty years after the first building was erected, in 1957, the Congregational Christian and the Evangelical Church merged and became the United Church of Christ. From 1957 to 1982, 14 ministers served the church.
The church then purchased a house on Jenny Lind Road which was used as a parsonage. In 1963 the average attendance in Sunday School was 115. All of the amenities were updated as well as the purchase of an organ. The organist being Mr. Harold Tarvin and, Mrs. Alice Kelsey led the choir. Through the years the fond name of “ The Little White Church by the Road” was used often. In 1965 to help in finding a full time minister, Mt. Holly merged again with Pt. Isabel and Mt Zion churches to form the Ohio Valley Parish. This only lasted a few years as you can imagine the wear on one pastor serving 3 churches.
To help with the upkeep of the grounds, which is all done by volunteers. In 1975 the cemetery was turned over to Batavia Township, but the name remained Mt. Holly Cemetery. Things continued on well for the congregation with the many involvements in the community, charities, and mission support, until 1982. When the Untied Church of Christ changed some of its policies, the Mt Holly Congregation decided it could no longer support its teachings and under the leadership of Carl Ely, it became an independent church with its own constitution. When the church broke away, it returned once again to its roots and to the name of Christian Chapel, the name that was on the building plate so many years ago.
