Houses of Worship Cass County, MI

I am adding churches and houses of worship photos as I receive them. If you have histories, congregation lists or photos of the early
Houses of Worship in Cass County, Michigan, please contact us at cassmichigangen@yahoo.com

Bethel AME Church		Mt. Zion Church
Chain Lake Log Cabin Original Church	Chain Lake Church 1860 to 1966	Chain Lake Baptist Church Todays church
Calvin Community Chapel nondenominational church founded 1928, Calvin Twp. Cass County	Dailey Church Photos and History Brochure	Calvin Community Chapel nondenominational church founded 1928, Calvin Twp. Cass County
	Old Union Protestant at Dailey Predecessor of Dailey church

Old Founding Churches and Religions of Cass County, Michigan

1831 - American Home Missionary Society leader Luther Humphrey - organized the Presbyterian Church of Edwardsburg. Worship was held in homes until 1856 with a chapel was built.

1832 - Episcopal Church - Services first conducted by Bishop Philander Chase.

1838 - Chief Leopold Pokagon built a log church for the Catholic Bishop of Detroit. During the early 1840's Holy Cross Fathers of Notre Dame held services for the Indians, until 1844 when Father Theophile Marlvault became the first priest to be assigned to this parish. Later - (1847 to 1870, a Father Louis Baroux served. He is buried on the grounds in 1897. A white framed church that was constructed in about 1861 burned in 1886 and was replaced by the present structure.

1838 - First African-American Church organized.

1838 - Chain Lake Baptist Church is located on the south side of Chain Lake Road between Calvin Center Road and Union Road in Calvin Center Township. The one-acre cemetery contains seventeen hundred graves, of which four hundred date from the nineteenth century. The gently rolling landscaped grounds contain several family monuments, dozens of fieldstone headstones, and more recent marble markers. The family monuments recall the names of William, George and Green Allen, Kitchen Artis, Dr. Charles Newsom, the township’s first regular physician, and other early pioneer settlers in Calvin Township.
  The Chain Lake Baptist Church Cemetery is the final resting place of pioneers of one of Michigan’s and Cass County’s oldest black communities, Calvin Center Township. The first permanent black settlers came to Calvin in 1845 when John Stewart, Lamoon Howell and Ezechial Cole migrated here from Logan County, Ohio. The Chain Lake Baptist Church was organized by Elder David Lett on January 14, 1848 with eight members. A log church costing $1200 was erected two years later. On Marsh 8, 1856, church trustee Turner Byrd and his wife donated an acre of land for use as a cemetery for church members. The Chain Lake Baptist Church Cemetery historically recalls the burial site of Cass County’s and southwest Michigan’s oldest black pioneer settlers and residents. It has remained in continued use for one hundred and thirty years.

1830's to 1840's circuit riding Methodist ministers held services in Pakagon township.

1839 - The first Methodist church of Milton Township with a church being built the following year.

1841 The 1st Regular Baptist Church of Newberg (AKA - Poe's Church) was organized and church erected in 1858.

1849 - Mt. Zion Church was organized in 1849. Meeting were first held in private homes. About 1850, a logs Church was erected that measured 12’ x 16’. In 1854 a larger building was constructed which measured 30’ x 40’. The two churches were built by a group of African American Pioneers, who migrated from Northampton Co. NC, to Logan Co. OH and finally to Cass Co. MI and settled in Porter Township and Calvin Township.

The Charter members of the Church included Joseph and Rebecca Allen, William and Winne Anderson Allen, Fannie Allen, Bennett Allen, John H. Anderson and Rachel Allen.
Some of the first trustees were: Richard Woods, Benjamin Hawley, Lemuel Archer, Lawson Howell, William Scott, and Joseph Allen. 

In 1882 the congregation numbered 200 and the church property including a parsonage in Calvin Center, MI was valued at $3000.
Mt. Zion, was called the Mother Church of the county, as the Churches in Volinia, Calvin Center, Cassopolis, and Dowagiac became organized later.

Some of the early ministers of were:
Rev. Polk,    Rev. William Simpson
Rev. Gregory  Rev. Stafford Byrd ( Calvin product)
Rev. Joseph M. Evans ( Calvin/North Porter product)
Mt. Zion AME Church now lies abandoned and surrounded by trees.

Information from the files of: Rosanna Allen Wilson, Esther R. Sanders,
and Maurice W. Sanders. mauricews@att.net

Note: The Mt. Zion Church, hand written Sunday School records from 1887 to 1891,
(with information on the starting time, opening song, prayer by, school attendance (number),
collection total, closing song, and name of the Rev. who made remarks), are in my collection of family artifacts. 

1853 the Michigan Antislavery Baptist Association, later named the Chain Lake Baptist Association formed Early settlers of this region can be found on other web sites through out the web.

1856 - Bethel AME Church - Bethel AME Church in Calvin Center was organized in 1856, by the Rev. Richard Johnson. They held there first services in the log school house.

Rev. Richard Johnson and Bill Dungey hewed out timber for the building. In 1870 a frame structure was erected, and it was valued at $800. The membership in 1882 was 64. The Sunday School had a membership of 40 scholars. There was a library attached to the Church containing 103 volumes.

The Trustees in 1882 were Peter Day, Alexander Mathews, Samuel Curtis Sr., George Scott and Mr. Byrd.
The Stewards were Peter Day, Gilbert Brown and Solomon Griffin.
Some of the early ministers were: Rev. John Myers, Rev. Jeffries, and Rev. Knight,
The Church was remodeled in 1960, and still actively holding services, each Sunday.
Information from the files of: Rosanna Allen Wilson, ( as told by Mary Curtis 1938), Esther R. Sanders, and Maurice W. Sanders

mauricews@att.net.

Note: A Unique Experience In Black Culture and History
“ Old World Background – New Word Experiences”
Battle Creek, MI Mount Zion A.M.E. Chruch

Compiled 2003, by Frank R. Brown.
History Introduction – “In 1849 the second A.M.E. church in the State,
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was organized at Calvin Center, Cass County”
-- Bethel AME Church, MS, in the custody of Rosa Wilson, R.F.D. 3, Cassopolis, Mich.

1859 - St. Paul's Church - under the leadership of Justus Gage, built the Universalist Church in Dowagiac.

1876 Methodist purchased a building, which was previously "Hops Barn" Within this same church the song, "The Old Rugged Cross" was completed and sung for the first time, later becoming a national treasure in songs sung at various churches through out the USA.

1925     Mt. Zion Church Missionaries - Click on photo

1928 - Calvin Community Chapel History link

From the pastor of Dailey Church - At one time, the church and the cemetery we connected, though the cemetery pre-dates the church. The church was originally Union Protestant Church, but just recently we changed our name to Dailey Church. Though we are a member of The Missionary Church, Inc.
Dailey Church History Link

Cass County Historical Markers  (wonderful off site pages)

Churches of Cass County, MI
Publication and Films

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