There was a time that Carterville had two Methodist churches, as shown in a portion of the 1925 Sanborn Fire Insurance map.
The St. John’s Methodist Episcopal Church South can be seen on the northeast corner of Kentucky and Main streets, and the M. E. Church North can be seen on the southeast corner of Tennessee and Hall streets.
The wooden-frame M.E. Church North is pictured in the accompanying 1909 real photo postcard from Walt Robertson. It was noted that this church melded with another church in 1944, possibly the M. E. Church South.
The M.E. Church South was constructed in 1891 at a cost of $4,868.00. A bell was purchased the same year and placed in the bell tower of the building. It would toll for church services, weddings and funerals until the bell tower was destroyed by a lightning strike sometime around 1930. The beautiful stained glass windows that can still be viewed today were installed during the 1910s.
The bell tower can be seen in a photograph that was contributed to the genealogy society by Sharon Carter Connor.
