Born before electricity: Shenandoah Christian Church celebrates 150 years

SHILOH — For 150 years, a small church located at 5642 State Route 13 North, has rung its bell, gathered its neighbors and held fast to a faith born on the American frontier.

Shenandoah Christian Church marks a century and a half of worship this year, tracing its roots to 1876. Long before paved roads, the church’s story unfolded in a shared meeting house, carried forward by people with dedication.

“Shenandoah Christian Church is part of a rich heritage reaching back to the time when Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio were part of the American frontier,” said Kay Jenney, church clerk and historian.

Jenney compiled the church’s historical information in January 2003 and updated it in 2026.

From frontier faith to a united beginning

The Christian Church, originally called the Brotherhood, began as a Restoration Movement focused on restoring the New Testament concept of the church and emphasizing unity in the Church of the Living Christ.

In 1870, worship in Shenandoah centered on the Union Meeting House, founded in 1849 and located in the northwest corner of the cemetery just south of the village along what is now State Route 13.

According to Jenney, the Union Meeting House was torn down in 1986.

“This was used by German Reforms, Quakers, Presbyterians, Methodists and Church of God, as a house of worship,” Jenney said.

That shared spirit set the stage for a pivotal moment on the third Sunday of July in 1870.

A circuit rider, winter debates and a growing revival

Through the efforts of William Sonnanstine, Mrs. Katherine Sanker and wagon maker John Tanyer, the congregation invited circuit rider Jacob Lowe to preach at the Union Meeting House.

Lowe, a Disciples Church minister and superintendent of the Shelby School District, brought both scholarship and passion to the pulpit, having taught and preached since age 17.

While there were no immediate results from Lowe’s three annual sermons, the seed had been planted.

“Many were the discussions on winter nights around the stove in the village general store and at firesides where groups gathered to while away the winter evenings, as religion was a vital topic in those days,” Jenney said.

Momentum finally took hold during the winter of 1875–76, when John Mercer and his wife Jane encouraged Lowe’s brother, John Lowe of the Clear Creek Church in Ashland, to preach a series of meetings in Shenandoah.

After three weeks at the Union Meeting House, 30 people responded and confessed their faith.

The revival stretched six more weeks, and on Feb. 24, 1876, organizers formed Shenandoah Christian Church with 75 charter members.

Bells ringing, buildings growing and traditions enduring

Growth continued, and in 1879 the congregation built a new meeting house for $3,000.

The original structure included a front entrance, vestibule, open balcony and sanctuary, with the pulpit set in an east-side alcove and pews facing east, possibly beginning as wooden benches.

Stained glass and new pews arrived around 1915, but the bell installed in 1879 still rings today.

Before telephones connected the community, the church relied on a toller, ringing one toll for each year of a person’s life when someone died and calling worshippers together each Sunday morning.

As membership expanded, the church added a new pulpit, baptistery and classrooms in 1915, followed by a full basement in 1937.

The church completed its most recent addition in 1989, adding a kitchen, expanded fellowship hall, extended entry, three classrooms and first-floor restrooms.

“Through God’s blessing and the dedication and hard work of many members of the church, this addition was completed debt-free and was dedicated on May 19, 1989,” Jenney said.

Community traditions flourished alongside structural growth

Ice cream socials began before electricity reached Shenandoah, held in a hickory grove north of the church and lit by gas torches hanging from the trees.

(Story continues below photo. Shenandoah Church Sunday School Circa 1900 gathering for an Ice Cream Social. Provided by Kay Jenney)

Volunteers cranked freezers filled with ice cream made from fresh raw milk and ungraded eggs, a tradition that ended only when sugar rationing began during World War II, though festivals continued through 1992.

In 1958, church members started making apple butter. Today, the annual apple butter event on the second Saturday of October brings more than 60 gallons and five kettles — with volunteers filling over 500 pint jars.

In June 2002, the congregation voted unanimously to leave the Disciples of Christ denomination and become an independent Christian Church.

Much of the church’s recorded history comes from Salome Oswalt Greenup and Vernon Wolford, with Greenup’s written history in 1936.

“Whatever we enjoy as great people is built upon the labors of those who went before us,” Greenup said. “We begin where they left off.”

“A Moment in History” celebrates the past

Today, Shenandoah Christian Church averages 60 in attendance and continues without a minister. There are plans to consider a new minister at a congregational meeting later this month.

To mark its 150th year, the church will celebrate with birthday cake after a Sunday service in March.

“Throughout the year, we will look back at our church past with ‘A Moment In History’ presented during our morning worship services,” Jenney added. “These pieces of history will also be posted on our Facebook page.”

“Praise in the Pavilion,” will be an evening of Christian music and an ice cream social with the date still to be determined. 

The main celebration comes the third Sunday in July, marking the date Jacob Lowe first preached in Shenandoah in 1870.

Former members, families and pastors will gather for a homecoming service featuring historical presentations in period costume and a sermon by former pastor Tom McFadden, followed by a luncheon.

(More photos of Shenandoah Christian Church through the years. Provided by Kay Jenney)