Page 133 - History of UB Church in Hburg Region
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History of U.B. Churches in Harrisonburg-Staunton Region December 26, 2024
14. Dayton U.B. Church and SCI [Dayton, Rockingham County; 1878, 1929]
Dayton UMC is located at 215 Ashby Street, Dayton, Virginia 22821; (540) 879-2102; Fax,
(540) 879-2703; http://www.daytonvaumc.org/. The staff includes: Rev. Steven L. Bird,
daytonpastor@comcast.net; Administrative Assistant Nancy Miller, daytonumc@comcast.net; Chancel
Choir/Music Coordinator Connie Minnick:
cminnick@bridgewater.edu. Dayton UMC has a rich
history in the Dayton, Virginia, community. For at
least 128 years, we have been witnessing to God’s
amazing grace found in Jesus Christ. We are a
merger of two great traditions, the EUB Church and
The Methodist Church, in 1968. We moved into our
present building in 1978. We have always had a
heart for missions desiring to be God’s people for a broken and hurting world. We are located in at the
intersection of Thompson and Ashby Streets.
History of Dayton U.B. Church, Part 1.29 It is
difficult to point to a definite date as the beginning of
the first U.B. Church in Dayton. As is the case with
most churches, its beginning was a growth rather than a
birth. In those early days, services were held in barns,
homes, school buildings, mills, and other public places
many years before a congregation was organized or a
church built.
The first U.B. church to be built in Virginia was
built in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley about 1824. It
was known as Whitesel’s Church and for many years
was a most influential congregation. With this church
as a center, periodic services must have been held in
Dayton at various times and places from a very early
date.
A reference to the first Dayton church building is found in the personal papers of Rev. A. P.
Funkhouser, now in the possession of Mr. J. K. Ruebush. Mr. Funkhouser writes of Mr. Sam Coffman
selling a “long- shop to the United Brethren about 1835.” Quoting further from the same source, /’The
subscription was gotten up by friends of the church to repay James Taylor who advanced the purchase
29 The first part of the history was written by Rev. Millard J. Miller, Pastor, 1933, with the assistance of Mr. Joe K.
Ruebush.
II.B.14 Dayton U.B. Church and SCI 119
14. Dayton U.B. Church and SCI [Dayton, Rockingham County; 1878, 1929]
Dayton UMC is located at 215 Ashby Street, Dayton, Virginia 22821; (540) 879-2102; Fax,
(540) 879-2703; http://www.daytonvaumc.org/. The staff includes: Rev. Steven L. Bird,
daytonpastor@comcast.net; Administrative Assistant Nancy Miller, daytonumc@comcast.net; Chancel
Choir/Music Coordinator Connie Minnick:
cminnick@bridgewater.edu. Dayton UMC has a rich
history in the Dayton, Virginia, community. For at
least 128 years, we have been witnessing to God’s
amazing grace found in Jesus Christ. We are a
merger of two great traditions, the EUB Church and
The Methodist Church, in 1968. We moved into our
present building in 1978. We have always had a
heart for missions desiring to be God’s people for a broken and hurting world. We are located in at the
intersection of Thompson and Ashby Streets.
History of Dayton U.B. Church, Part 1.29 It is
difficult to point to a definite date as the beginning of
the first U.B. Church in Dayton. As is the case with
most churches, its beginning was a growth rather than a
birth. In those early days, services were held in barns,
homes, school buildings, mills, and other public places
many years before a congregation was organized or a
church built.
The first U.B. church to be built in Virginia was
built in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley about 1824. It
was known as Whitesel’s Church and for many years
was a most influential congregation. With this church
as a center, periodic services must have been held in
Dayton at various times and places from a very early
date.
A reference to the first Dayton church building is found in the personal papers of Rev. A. P.
Funkhouser, now in the possession of Mr. J. K. Ruebush. Mr. Funkhouser writes of Mr. Sam Coffman
selling a “long- shop to the United Brethren about 1835.” Quoting further from the same source, /’The
subscription was gotten up by friends of the church to repay James Taylor who advanced the purchase
29 The first part of the history was written by Rev. Millard J. Miller, Pastor, 1933, with the assistance of Mr. Joe K.
Ruebush.
II.B.14 Dayton U.B. Church and SCI 119
