Christy Memorial United Methodist Church

Genealogical Data

The following index and/or records from this congregation are available:

Baptisms from 1912 to 1920

Marriages from 1912 to 1974

Deaths from 1949 to 1951

Pastors from 1894 to 1945

StLGS is following state guidelines for privacy wherever possible. Births/baptisms online must be at least one hundred years old; confirmations eighty-six years old; marriages forty-five years old; and deaths fifty years old. Additional indexed data from these records is available; please come to the StLGS office to view it. As privacy limits permit, society volunteers will post additional data online.

4601 Morganford Road
Photo © 2011 Landmarks Association
(Used with permission)

History

Established in 1884; closed in 2008

This congregation began as a Sunday school, started in 1892, for children of the workers at the Christy Clay Mines. The increasing enrollment led to the formation of an actual congregation, and their first church, called Oak Hill Methodist Episcopal Church South, was erected on the corner of Morganford Road and Oleatha Avenue in south St. Louis City. It was a small frame building situated on land donated by Mr. Calvin Christy, who was one of the charter members.

By 1911, the congregation had grown and decided the church needed to be moved to a better location. According to a church history, the new location would be “the corner of Morganford Road and Neosho Street, facing north on Neosho. A team of horses pulling chains and logs took one week to move the church and place it on the selected lot.” At the same time, it was decided to honor Calvin Christy by renaming the church Christy Memorial Methodist Church.

A more substantial structure was completed in 1915, in front of the old frame church. During the following decades, various additions were built, including a gym and classrooms “entirely paid for by proceeds from fish fries.”

The Methodist Episcopal Church North, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Protestant Methodist Church unified in 1940, leading to the name of the church to change to Christy Memorial United Methodist. By 1960, the congregation consisted of more than 900 people, leading to more expansion. In 1968, another unification, this time with the Evangelical United Brethren Church, led to another name change: Christy Memorial United Methodist Church.

Unfortunately, though, by the early 2000s, the area in which the church was located had undergone many population changes and there was no longer enough membership to sustain the large complex. The building still stands, however, and, most recently, was used as a restaurant.

Location 1894–1911: Oak Hill Methodist Episcopal Church South, Morganford Road and Oleatha Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63116
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.5948224, -90.2648198  View Map

Location 1911–1915: Christy Memorial Methodist Church, Morganford Road and Neosho Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63116
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.584942, -90.2681702  View Map

Location 1915–2008: Christy Memorial United Methodist Church, 4601 Morganford Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63116
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.5847744, -90.2685576  View Map