Name of property being submitted:
Tyner United Methodist Church
(i.e. Smith House, Church of Christ, Leland Round Barn, etc.)

Address of property being submitted:
4501 French St., P. O. Box 36, Tyner IN 46572
(if address is not applicable, please provide location)

Date of Construction or approximate date:
1875 (132 yrs old).
*properties are not eligible if they are less than fifty years old

General architectural type & style:
The original church was a rectangular wood frame stick building with a belfry which was typical of a country church in 1875. By 1900, two wings were added making the church a T-shape. More recent additions that were added around the existing structure are brick which combines a contemporary styling with the old country style.
(i.e. bank barn, Art Deco theater, log cabin, Victorian house, vernacular, etc.)

Reference help is available upon request.
Builder and/or Architect:
The original church builder is unknown but may have been built by the members. Strang Construction was the builder for the additions in 1956 and 1970 with Architect Alves O Keefe in 1956 and Architect Bill Willcoxon in 1970.
Please describe construction materials:
The church today consists of red brick and white aluminum-sided walls with block foundation and shingled roof. The facade is part brick and part laminated aluminum. Some original stained windows remain on the original sections.
(i. e. brick walls, stone foundation, wood gingerbread, slate roof, etc.)

Describe the general appearance of the property:
This single story, gable roof, and brick/white aluminum-sided church is in good condition and well maintained. It includes a full basement, an equipped kitchen, restrooms, and classrooms. The church has a partial brick/aluminum facade with portico and a brick addition of classrooms along the north and south sides of the original structurel. A brick parsonage is in back beyond the parking lot with a tree-lined park area adjacent to the north and east of the church and parsonage. The old church bell is mounted on a brick foundation between the church and park which bears a bronze plaque commemorating the dedication.
(i. e. two story gable roof, wrap-around porch, tower, general setting or landscape features, etc.)

Was there significant alteration to original construction?:
Yes Date: 1900, 1915, 1957, & 1970. In 1900 a north and south wing was added. In 1915 the church was elevated for the construction of a basement. A new entry was also added with steps, and railing. In 1957 the Tyner Evangelical United Brethren Church underwent a major remodeling and addition program which provided two new classrooms, balcony, and a divided chancel. In the new south addition are the sacristy and the pastor’s office with the nursery/kindergarten and rest room on the north side. The basement auditorium was enlarged. This space also provided for classrooms, a new furnace room and rest rooms. A later renovation involved the removal of the belfry and moving the entrance to accommodate the partial brick facade and portico. The old church bell was mounted on a brick foundation with a bronze plaque bearing the commemoration.

Describe the historical/biographical aspect of the property:
Tyner was laid out June 18, 1855, by Jacob H. Miller, Maynard French and Thomas Tyner. Tyner was a thriving bustling town in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s with a school, 2 hotels, a post office, wooden pump factory, stave factory, two copper shops and a blacksmith shop, a coffin factory, cider mill, pickle factory, a stock yard, cemetery, 2 churches and a train depot.
The Brethren church started somewhere northeast of Tyner in 1850 but was abandoned very briefly. In 1858 David Ross organized the Tyner United Brethren Church in Christ with a membership of 12 persons. In 1875 the original church structure was built but moved to the current site at 4501 French Street, in 1877. The United Brethren Church merged in 1948 with the Evangelicals and became the Evangelical United Brethren Church (E. U. B.). The 100th anniversary was celebrated on October 8, 1950 with Fred L. Dennis, Bishop of the North West Area of the Church, as the guest speaker. In 1968, the church underwent another merger with the Methodist and became the Tyner United Methodist Church, as we know it today. It is the only existing church in Tyner and has been active continuously since 1858.
(i.e. a historical event or person that may be associated with the property, or general use of the property)

Please give a succession of owners starting with the original owner, to the best of your knowledge.
1858 - 1948 United Brethren Church in Christ
1948 - 1968 Evangelical United Brethren Church
1968 - 2007 United Methodist Church

Pastors serving Tyner United Methodist Church

1858 - United Brethren in Christ

1858 David Ross
1889- Rev. P. P. Kegg
1890-1891 Rev. G. L. Mattox
1892-1893 Rev. S. Snyder
1894-1896 Rev. J. W. Riley
1897- Rev. H. Clark
1898-1899 Rev. G. L. Mattox
1900- Rev. I. S. Cleaver
1901- Rev. G. E. Luke
1902-1903 Rev. J. S. Miller
1904-1905 Rev. William Simons
1906-1908 Rev. J. Q. Kline
1909- Rev. H. Grant Pence
1910- Rev. A. J. Brock
1911- Rev. L. W. Love
1912-1913 Rev. Ben F. Richer
1914- Rev. R. C. Dillman
1915-1916 Rev. Rev. C. J. Miner
1917-1918 Rev. G. E. Landen
1919- Rev. C. D. Crabill
1920-1922 Rev. Nathan E. Tillman
1923- Rev. Fred B. Feightner
1924- Rev. Roscoe F. Wilson
1925-1927 Rev. S. P. O’Reilley
1928-1929 Rev. R. D. Smith
1930-1933 Rev. Nathan E. Tillman
1934-1935 Rev. J. B. Glick
1936-1938 Rev. Silas M. Hill
1939-1940 Rev. Leo Erney
1941-1944 *Rev. Ethel Hollingsworth
1945-1946 Rev. E. L. Krick
1947- Rev. William L. Eiler

1948 - Evangelical United Brethren

1948-1953 Rev. Dwight McClure
1954-1960 Rev. John Davis
1961- Rev. Lloyd W. Overmyer
1962-1966 Rev. Kaye Casterline

1968 - United Methodist Church

1969-1972 Rev. Norris King
1973-1975 Rev. John B. Watkins
1976-1978 Rev. James L. Price
1979-1980 Rev. Michael Heath
1981-1984 Rev. John Wagner
1985-1988 *Rev. Leona Tichenor
1989-1991 Rev. David Overmyer
1992-1994 *Rev. Rose Woodke
1995-1997 Rev. Taylor W. Burton-Edwards
1998-2002 Rev. David G. Inskeep
2003-2006 *Rev. Cheryl E. Stratton
2006-Present Rev. P. Michael Dixon
* 4 Women Pastors in the history of the Tyner United Methodist Church