United Methodist Church (U.S.)

Although this collection contains records primarily from the N.C. and Western N.C. Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS), and national records from both the MECS and the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC), this chronology is provided as an aid to understanding the context of the records contained in this collection.

• 1772: First Methodist preaching in North Carolina at Currituck Court House in northeastern N.C.
• 1774: Petersburg Circuit extends into N.C.
• 1776: Carolina Circuit forms and is located in the north central part of N.C.
• 1780: Yadkin Circuit forms out of the Pittsylvania Circuit in Va. and is located in the present area of the Western N.C. Conference
• 1783: Salisbury Circuit forms out of the Yadkin Circuit
• 1780s: Preachers from S.C. circuits extend their range into western N.C.
• 1785: Christmas Conference held in Baltimore, Md., establishing the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) in the United States
• 1785: Virginia Conference, MEC, forms; exists until 1837
• 1787: South Carolina Conference, MEC, forms; exists until 1844
• 1824: Holston Conference, MEC, forms out of the Western Conference, which includes the section of N.C. west of the Appalachian mountains; exists until 1844
• 1828: Dissenters over Bishops' powers leave the Methodist Episcopal Church and form the Methodist Protestant Church (MPC); MPC exists until 1939 North Carolina Conference, MPC, forms, which overlaps geographically with the part of N.C. that was in the Va. Conference of the MEC; conference exists until 1939
• 1836: North Carolina Conference of the MEC forms out of the Va. Conference, composed from the northern half of N.C. to the Appalachian mountains in the West; territory overlaps with the N.C. Conference of the MPC
• 1838: First session of the North Carolina Conference, MEC, is held in Greensboro
• 1844 - 1845 : Dissenters leave the MEC over slavery and form the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS); majority of N.C. churches join the MECS N.C. Conference and the Holston Conference also join the MECS MECS exists until 1939
• 1845 - 1865 : No official MEC conference in N.C.
• 1850: Sandhills region of southeastern N.C. moves from the S.C. Conference, MECS, into the N.C. Conference, MECS
• 1865: Holston Conference of the MEC forms again, which includes the section of N.C. west of the Appalachian mountains; exists until 1878
• 1867: Virginia-North Carolina Mission Conference of the MEC forms, which includes the northern half of N.C. to the Appalachian mountains in the West; comprises both African American and white members Exists until 1869
• 1869: N.C. Conference of the MEC forms out of the Va.-NC. Mission Conference, which includes the entire state of N.C.; exists until 1878
• 1870: Southern and western piedmont counties move from the S.C. Conference, MECS, to the N.C. Conference, MECS; the N.C. Conference is now composed of all N.C. counties except territory to the west of the Appalachian mountains, which remain in the Holston Conference of the MECS
• 1870: A separate Methodist Church, the Colored Methodist Church in America (CMCA), forms out of the MECS for all African-American members; exists until 1956
• 1879: White members of the N.C. Conference of the MEC and the N.C. part of the Asheville District of the Holston Conference, MEC, form the Southern Central Conference, MEC; exists until 1880
• 1879: N.C. Black Conference of the MEC forms out of the Va.-NC. Mission Conference; exists until 1939
• 1881: Name of Southern Central Conference, MEC, changes to Blue Ridge Conference, MEC; name remains through 1912
• 1890: Western North Carolina Conference of the MECS forms out of the western part of the N.C. Conference of the MECS and the N.C. part of the Holston Conference, MECS; exists until 1939
• 1896: Blue Ridge Conference, MEC, divides into the Atlantic Mission Conference in the eastern half of the state and the Blue Ridge Conference in the western half; both conferences exist until 1912
• 1912: Blue Ridge and Atlantic Mission Conferences of the MEC merge to form the Blue Ridge-Atlantic Conference of the MEC, which is composed of all of N.C., seven counties in southeastern Va., and twelve counties in S.C.
• 1913: Boundaries of the Blue Ridge-Atlantic Conference of the MEC change to include only N.C.
• 1939: MECS, MEC, and MPC merge into the Methodist Church (MC) Western N.C. Conference and N.C. Conference of the MC forms, composed of white ministers and congregations CMCA continues as a separate denomination
• 1939: Central Jurisdiction of the MC forms, composed of African-American congregations and ministers; exists until 1964
• 1956: CMCA changes name to Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
• 1965: North Carolina-Virginia Conference Central Jurisdictions, MC, form from the Central Jurisdiction, MC; jurisdictions exist until 1968
• 1968: MC and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merge into the United Methodist Church (UMC) North Carolina-Virginia Central Jurisdictions merge into either the Western N.C. Conference or the N.C. Conference, UMC

Resources used to write this history include Methodism in the Upper Cape Fear Valley, Chapter 1: The North Carolina Conference, 1838, by C. Franklin Grill (Nashville, Tenn.: The Parthenon Press, 1966) and History of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, by Joseph W. Lasley, Southeastern Jurisdiction Historical Society Proceedings June 30-July 3, 1989 (Lake Junaluska, N.C., [1989]). See the information folder for this collection in the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library for a copy of the latter resource.

From the guide to the United Methodist Church Records, 1784-1984, bulk 1800-1940, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)