Birdsview Church Photo & History

BIRDSVIEW METHODIST CHURCH

The people of Upper Center Point community were tired of using their school house as a church and depending on itinerant preachers for their spiritual needs. Time and again Sunday School was organized but for lack of interest would fail. In the early part of 1910 D.H. Colquette, pastor of Waldron Methodist Church, met with the community leaders to discuss the building and organizing of an established church and found the people were ready.

A site for the church was soon established. A tract of land adjacent to the Leming Cemetery located some 3 miles northeast of Waldron on the Booneville and Waldron road (today it is blacktopped and known as the City Lake Road) was donated and deeded to the church by the late John A. and Sodie (Taff) Bird.

Funds were donated to buy lumber that was sawed from virgin timber and hauled by the farmers with teams and wagons to the building site. After crops were laid by work began on the building by donated labor supervised by W.H. Davis and J.P. Johnson, both local carpenters who donated their time and labor.

Seats for the church were donated by Waldron Methodist Church. The inside walls and ceiling were of rough lumber, canvassed and papered by the late Ernest Tate and father. Donations of funds and labor were by the Birds, Davises, Sherrills, Rices, Ballards, Lees, Taffs, Johnsons, Wagners, Paynes, Yorks, Gentrys, Fraziers and others.

In 1911 the building was completed. "We must have a name for our church," someone said. D.H. Colquette was present and looking over the surrounding area, his eyes came to rest on the homes of John A. Bird and son, W.A. Bird, and he said, "Bro. Bird donated the land and the Bird families have a nice view of the church. Why not name the church Birdsview?" And Birdsview it was. The church was admitted to the North Arkansas Conference, Ft. Smith District, Waldron Circuit.

D.H. Colquette served as the first pastor until November, 1911, and also organized Sunday School, which has continued over the past sixty years. G.W. Powers, T.D. Langston and W.E. York were among the early Sunday School superintendents. Thirty-two charter members were received into the church by Rev. Colquette. An unofficial count shows there are eight still living.

During 1946 the church building was remodeled and rock veneered under the supervision of our local carpenter, W.V. Rice, and later a hardwood floor replaced the old one. Aisles were carpeted; old seats were replaced by factory built ones. The old wood burning stove was replaced by a butane furnace.

The above history of the Church was taken from an article in the Waldron News, 27 August 1970 edition, History of the Birdsview Methodist Church, written by Bill Taff. The full article contains additional information not copied here. Picture contributed by Delaine Edwards.