Stewart Bell Jr. Archives
Handley Regional Library
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society
P.O. Box 58, Winchester, VA 22604
(540) 662-9041 ext. 17
archives@handleyregional.org
www.handleyregional.org
1650 THL
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The collection contains the records of Refuge United Methodist Church along with its sister church Fairview United Methodist Church, both of Frederick County, VA. Included in the collection are Sunday School records, monthly church council minutes, membership directories, and state conference records dating from the early 20th Century to the early 21st Century.
(7 boxes) Last updated 12/08.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL: Refuge United Methodist Church was founded in 1889 after a bush meeting held by Rev. Frank A. Strother, the pastor of the Winchester Circuit at the time and a great founder of Methodist churches in the area, including both Refuge, and Relief United Methodist Church. The Refuge congregation met in a one-room school house near the site of the original bush meeting place until 1920 when the current church was built. The congregation today has over 100 members. Fairview Methodist Church was founded in 1867 by David Harris, the junior pastor of the Winchester Circuit. Originally a log cabin church, Fairview’s modern structure was completed in 1891 with the help of Strother. The church today has a membership of over 100.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Carr, Clay B. and Mildred L., Historical Sketches of Places of Worship: Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia, Winchester Printers, Inc., Winchester, VA, 1988, pgs. 37, 50.
CITE AS: Refuge United Methodist Church Records #1650, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.
ORGANIZATION: Financial Records,
Class Records
Church Bulletins, Church Council Meetings, Church Directories
Conferences
Sunday School Records
BOX 1 -- Financial Records
1929-1930
1930-1931
1931-1932
1933-1934
1940-1941
1941-1942
1942-1943
1945-1946
1946-1947
1947-1948
1948-1949
1949-1950
1950-1951
1951-1952
1952-1953
1954-1955
1955-1956
1956-1957
1957-1958
1960-1961
1961-1962
1962-1963
1963-1964
1964-1965
1965-1966
1980
1983
1983-1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
BOX 2 – Financial Records
1934-1935
1938-1939
1941-1942
1946-1947
1949-1950
1952-1953
1953-1958
1954-1955
1957-1958
1959-1960
1963-1964
BOX 3 – Class Records
1936-1937
1941-1942-1943
1944-1945
1946-1947
1948-1949
1949-1950
1950-1951
1951-1952
1952-1953
1953-1954
1954-1955
1955-1956
1956-1957
1957-1958
1958-1959
1959-1960
1960-1961
1961-1962
1962-1963
1963-1964
1964-1965
1965-1966
1966-1967
1967-1968
1968-1969
1969-1970
1970-1971
1971-1972
1972-1973
1973-1974
1974-1975
1975-1976
1976-1977
1977-1978
1978-1979
BOX 4 – Class Records
1980-1981
1982-1983
1983-1984
1985-1986
1987-1988
1988-1989
1989-1990
1990-1991
1991-1992
1992-1993
1994-1995
1995-1996
1996-1997
1997-1998
1998-1999
1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
No Date
BOX 5 – Church Bulletins, Church Council Meetings, Church Directories
1936-1995 – Refuge United Methodist Church Bulletins, 23 pages, printed
1996-1997 – Refuge United Methodist Church Bulletins, 52 pages, printed
1948-Present – Refuge United Methodist Church Reports, unnumbered items
1995-1996; 2006 – Fairview and Refuge United Methodist Church Directories, two booklets, printed
1996-1999 – Refuge United Methodist Church Council Meetings, 133 leaves, typescript (photocopy)
2000-2001 – Refuge United Methodist Church Council Meetings, 49 leaves, typescript (photocopy), one item, printed
Miscellaneous Items – Refuge United Methodist Church, unnumbered items
BOX 6 – Conferences
1982 – Report to the Annual Conference, 30 pages, typescript and printed
1983 – Report to the Annual Conference, 12 leaves, typescript
1984 – Report to the Annual Conference, 35 pages, typescript and printed
1985-1986 – Report to the Annual Conference, 51 leaves, printed and typescript
1987 – Report to the Annual Conference, 26 pages, typescript and printed
1988 – Report to the Annual Conference, 18 pages, printed
1990 – Report to the Annual Conference, 29 pages, printed
1991 – Report to the Annual Conference, 28 pages, printed
1992 – Report to the Annual Conference, 28 pages, printed
1992 – Proposed Budget, and conference Appointments, 18 leaves, typescript
1993 – Administrative Council Report, unnumbered pages
1993 – Proposed District Budget, and Conference Appointments, 23 leaves, typescript, one booklet, 19 pages
1993 – Report to the Annual Conference, 16 pages, printed
1993-1994- Reports to the Annual Conference, 40 pages, typescript and printed
1995 – Report to the Annual Conference, 28 leaves, typescript
1995 –Administrative Council Report, 52 leaves, typescript
1999 – Report to the Annual Conference, unnumbered pages
Loose Items from Reports to the Annual Conference, 44 pages, printed and typescript
BOX 7 – Sunday School Records
1945-1946 – Treasurer’s Report, Refuge United Methodist Church, 19 pages, manuscript
1961-1971 – Willing Workers Sunday School Class Records, one notebook
1970 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1971-1973 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1975 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1976-1978 – Sunday School Attendance Records, 76 leaves, manuscript
1978-1979 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1979-1980 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1990 – 1991 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1991-1992 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1993-1994 – Sunday School Attendance Records, one notebook
1994-1996 – Sunday School Attendance Records, unnumbered leaves
News Articles, unnumbered leaves, printed (photocopy)
1993-1994 – Conference Reports