One of the earliest accounts of a circuit rider coming to Maryville is that
of Methodist Lorenzo Dow in 1804. His dynamic preaching, said to
attract 1500 listeners from many denominations, rang from the heights of Mt.
Gilead hill, about a half mile beyond Maryville's Main Street (now
Broadway) In the first decade of the 19th century, many camp meetings were
held on Mt. Gilead.
Bishop Francis Asbury (1745-1816), the most famous of all circuit riders,
came to Maryville at least twice. It is generally believed that he
spoke at Mt. Gilead both times. Although no church building had been
constructed, a brush arbor likely served the large congregations who came to
hear him, the first time in a heavy downpour of rain, the second on a "balmy
day."
Through the persistent efforts of the circuit riders and local leaders,
Methodism soon took a firm hold in Blount County. Worshippers met
under the brush arbor or in the case of overflow crowds, sat on tree stumps
or crude benches while listening to the exhortations of the preachers,
urging them to renounce their sinful ways and accept the Christian faith.
Those who had traveled several miles pitched their tents side-by-side in a
wide circle surrounding the place of worship. Or, if they had no
tents, they pulled their wagons into the circle and slept in them. The
days were filled with prayers, sermons, exhortations, and confessions.
On October 18, 1819, the five-acre tract on "Methodist Hill" was placed on
auction and bought by the trustees of Mt. Gilead Church for 77 cents plus
all accrued interest and principal. It was then deeded to Mount Gilead
Methodist Episcopal Church with one acre set aside as a cemetery, which
still stands on the site today.
In 1824 when the Holston Conference of the Methodist Church was organized,
Mt. Gilead Methodist Church sent delegates and was named part of the
Maryville Circuit. The first pastor was Thomas J. Brown appointed by
the conference in 1825. When the Methodist Church broke into two divisions
in1844 over the ownership of slaves by two pastors, one from Maryland and
the other from Georgia, the Holston Conference voted to align itself with
the southern branch of the church.
Subsequently, Mt. Gilead Methodist Episcopal Church became commonly known as
Maryville Methodist Episcopal Church, South, even though on record it was
termed Mount Gilead M. E. Church, South. Sympathizers of both the
southern and northern branches of the church continued to worship together
on Mt. Gilead.
In 1860 the church had outgrown its walls on Mt. Gilead. The members
bought land and constructed a new church building on Church Street in
downtown Maryville on the very spot where once stood the home of Rev. Isaac
Anderson, founder of Maryville College. By 1864 it was evident that
the ravages of the Civil War which had pitted many of the families of the
church against each other would indeed split the church. As a result,
the Holston Conference did not appoint a pastor to the church in 1864.
In 1865 when the Holston Conference reorganized in Athens, Tennessee, the
Maryville ME Church was also reorganized. The ME church broke ties
with the ME South church and met at different places before constructing
their own building in 1871. The Southern church continued worshipping
in the building on Church Street until 1899.
It was 1890 before the Methodist churches in Maryville began to recover from
the ravages of the Civil War with Northern sympathizers set against Southern
sympathizers. By this time there was only one ME South pastor, at the
Maryville ME South church, while there were six ME Church pastors throughout
Blount County. During the 1890's, the Maryville ME South Church on
Church Street outgrew its building and, in 1899, the congregation relocated
at the present site, 309 East Broadway.
By the 1920's, it was evident that additional educational facilities were
necessary. Consequently the present education wing was built
incorporating a third floor which was used for basketball, tennis, the Boy
Scouts, and, at one time, a bowling area sponsored by the Kiwanis Club.
Due to the depression era, the building was not dedicated until 1943.
By the mid-1950's, the congregation had outgrown the sanctuary, and, in
1959, the present new structure was completed. In 1973, the stained
glass windows were installed in the sanctuary and chapel areas.
Throughout the 1980's and 90's, Broadway embarked on several renovation
projects to improve the flexibility of both the education program and
worship opportunities. The children's division was upgraded with the
walls in each room decorated in a different motif by Beverly Baker; the
second and third floors were upgraded to accommodate a more diverse adult
and youth program and to make room for the newly developed hand bell program;
and the chancel area of the sanctuary was renovated to open up space for
more contemporary styles of worship, including an overhaul of the Wicks pipe
organ.
In 1998, Rejuvenation Station, a contemporary service was launched and
continues to present a dynamic service of modern music, more casual dress,
and the use of multimedia to enhance worship.
To make the church more accessible to physically challenged people, an
elevator was added in 2003.
The Church Council, in 2002, affirmed Broadway's role as a downtown church
and future dreams for witness, evangelism, and outreach now focus on its
challenge to minister to the needs of a growing community.
