History

  • February 1, 1861: Abraham Lincoln, departs from the home of Augustus Chapman, located on Jackson avenue between 4th and 5th streets in Charleston, to return to Springfield. This was his last visit to Coles County.
  • September, 1899: Classes begin at Eastern Illinois University's Old Main.
  • July 21, 1912: The Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Charleston is organized with 29 members. Although the church history indicates the name of the church as United Brethren, note the post card below shows the early spelling of the church name as "United Brethern". If you look closely at the cornerstone, you can see the spelling was changed from "Brethern" to "Brethren".
  • May 12, 1919: Mother's Day is observed at the 10:45 a.m. service with Pastor W.O. Stonebraker. Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m., Senior Endeavor is held at 7 p.m. followed by the Evangelistic worship at 8 p.m.
  • October, 1921: Dedication of the church which is now the McGrady Inn. Over $11,000 in funds were raised to erect the building and a $4,000 mortgage was obtained by the congregation which had grown to 146 members. The maple floors were obtained from the Fuller Brothers Lumber and Coal Yard on 6th Street in Charleston.
    United_Brethern_Church_Postcard
  • July, 1945: Mortgage burning ceremony in the sanctuary.
    1945_Mortgage_Burning
  • July, 1968: The United Brethren in Christ Church becomes the Otterbein United Methodist Church after the merger of the Methodist and United Brethren conferences.
  • August 20, 1978: the Otterbein United Methodist Church relocates to a new building at 2175 East Harrison Avenue in Charleston.
  • April, 2005: Renovation of the McGrady Inn begins.
  • September, 2008: McGrady Inn opens.