St. John's United Methodist Church 3.14

St. John's United Methodist Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.HistoryDevelopment of the Methodist Church in DavenportThe beginning of the Methodist Church in Davenport can be traced to the arrival of the Rev. E. C. Gavit of the Ohio Conference who was sent to minister among the Sac and Fox tribes in 1835. He was also instructed to visit White settlements along the way and from them he was to receive his financial support. While he resided in the area that would become Davenport, his missionary territory stretched from the Missouri state border to St. Anthony Falls in Minnesota, which is in present-day Minneapolis.In August 1836 the Methodist Society was organized in Rockingham, Iowa, the present southwest side of Davenport, with the assistance of the Illinois Conference. It consisted of seven or eight people. D.C. James had been assigned to the Rock Island District and preached at Rockingham. Later that year the Rockingham Circuit was formed. The circuit included an area of about 200 miles. It stretched from the Iowa River on the south to the Wapsipinicon River on the north and went inland to where ever there was a White settlement. Chauncey Hobart was put in charge of the circuit.