The History of the First Methodist Church of Dover

By Paul Wood

The Methodist congregation built the first church in Dover. Now, 168 years later, the stately First Methodist Church of Dover closed its doors for worship. The preschool will operate through June, and the building’s fate remains unsettled, but it inspires a look at the church’s historic time in town.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Dover, as it was known then, originated in the Millbrook Methodist Church. In 1826, Rev. Thomas Lovell from Crosswicks, New Jersey, started what would prove to be a futile fundraising drive to build a Methodist church in Dover. Instead, in 1830, the Millbrook Methodist Church opened, drawing worshippers from miles around, making it the first Methodist Church in the area.

Dover’s faithful never stopped working. On Dec. 29, 1838, they opened the doors to the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Dover, the first church built in town. Located at the corner of McFarlan and Sussex streets, it cost $1,400 to build. The Rev. James Ayers, a Newark minister, delivered the first sermon.

By 1842, there were 36 adult members at First Methodist Episcopal Church. Two years later, there were 87 members. In 1858, there were approximately 90 baptized children and 70 adult church members at Dover.

The congregation split in 1870, with the splinter group forming the Grace Second Methodist Episcopal Church. The First Methodist Episcopal Church, which became First Methodist Church of Dover, moved to its new building at North Essex Street, with a large lawn fronting Blackwell Street, in 1872. In 1890, the original Methodist Church building at 53 N. Sussex St. was sold. Grace Second Methodist Episcopal Church built its new home at 98 N. Sussex St., and is known today as Grace United Methodist Church.

First Methodist continued to expand its building, which created a capacity of 656; the adult membership alone was nearly 200. In 1907, First Methodist built their addition directly on Blackwell Street. Fifty years later, they removed the parsonage to add the school building, which now houses the preschool and daycare program that will remain open until the end of the 2024-25 school year.

As the decades passed, membership and attendance dwindled. In 2023, the congregation—reportedly falling to 46 members, with Sunday services drawing 12 members—voted to remain open. But as 2024 closed, the Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey Conferences of the United Methodist Church shut it down.

The church organization is preparing to sell the buildings.

Meanwhile, the First Methodist Church closure leaves its congregants without a place to call home. Grace United Methodist Church, however, will serve its members. “Welcome to Grace,” its website proclaims, “Where hope never fades.”

A welcoming thought for all who worshiped at First Methodist.

Paul Wood, a 26-year Dover resident, is secretary/historian of the Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Association. He teaches woodworking at Roxbury High School.