The Corydon Democrat
Wednesday, April 18, 2001

Historic Church has New Steeple

A steeple once again sits atop the Lanesville United Methodist Church. Parishioners are uncertain how long the building has been without a steeple, but a new one was installed April 10.

The old steeple was removed sometime between 1900 and 1910, said trustee Steve Avera, when lightning struck the building. "We have pictures of the building that were taken in 1900 that show the steeple, and then pictures from 1910 where it was gone," he said.

Lanesville UMC was built sometime soon after 1859, when Edward Pennington deeded the property.

"Although we do not have a record of it, we believe the church may have been built in the early years of the Civil War," Avera said. "The bell tower, steeple and bell were added in 1895."

Besides normal aging from weather, the tower's structural soundness was damaged by insects.

"This led us to consult with the church conference architect for recommendations for repairs," Avera said. "One suggestion was that we consider removing the bell and dismantling the tower for safety concerns.

"However, with the help of the Harrison County Community Foundation, we have been able to make the necessary structural repairs to keep our tower intact and our bell operational," he said.

The Foundation awarded the church a $2,086 grant.
Steve Elbert of Capital Improvement Co. in Corydon helped reconfigure the bell tower roof and install the steeple, donated by the Fulkerson family in memory of Jack Fulkerson.

Avera said another family also provided the funds to purchase new carpet for the sanctuary in memory of their loved ones.

"Attendance at our regular services has been steadily increasing," Avera said, "and our congregation is optimistic going into the new millennium."

Parishioners are making plans to expand their activities from the usual Sunday worship, Sunday school, Wednesday night prayer meeting and Vacation Bible School to include ice cream socials similar to the ones the church had many years ago. The pastor is the Rev. Aaron Streigel.

"And we are establishing a building fund that we intend to use for further renovations to the church and to set aside a nest egg for a possible new church building," Avera said.