A Brief History of First United Methodist Church

First United Methodist Church is the oldest continuing congregation in the city of Manchester.  This church started in 1829 in a kitchen near Huse Road, and then a building was raised near Mammoth Road, corner of Cilley Road, in 1829.  A parsonage was then purchased where the city reservoir now stands.

Amoskeag Industries was growing and a decision was made to relocate the church closer to where more people lived.  In 1887, a chapel (now the current parsonage) was erected on Valley Street.  In 1888, the church building on Mammoth and Cilley was moved on rollers to what is now the parsonage lawn.  In 1919, a new brick church was built across the street at the cost of a dime a brick.  In the early 1960s, a parking lost on Cypress Street was added.  In 1967, the home alongside of the church was given to the church, and “Morse Hall” provided much needed Sunday School space.  In 1968, with the merger of a number of historically “Wesleyan” denominations, the United Methodist Church came into being, and so did the church’s current name, First United Methodist Church.  The first floor of it now houses the Activa-Tree Christian Pre-School.