A Brief History of Waugh

Before any of the Methodist Churches in the Long Green Valley were constructed, services were held in private homes where the circuit rider would frequent the house, perhaps only once a month. This was the case with the early meetings of what grew to be the Waugh Congregation. These early meetings were held in the home of Mr. R. H. Munroe whose house was located just east of the church property line. Specific information on the operation of the early church has been lost in time, and the earliest mention of the church was in 1843 when it became one of the eleven preaching points on the Great Falls Circuit. In that year the first frame building was erected to the right of the current church, near the cemetery, on land donated by John and Ann Geddes. The congregation named the church Waugh in honor of Mr. Beverly Waugh who was the current Bishop of Baltimore.

The first pastor of Waugh was Rev. Richard Brown whose annual salary was reported as:

Salary of Preacher, wife & 6 children…...$310 

Provision, feed and table…………………….$375 

Horse shoeing for 12 months………………….$5

Moving from current home in Abingdon…$5

Keeping horse for 12 months………………..$11

In 1864 the church separated from the Great Falls Circuit and became part of the Long Green Circuit. The church continued to grow and was incorporated in 1875 as Waugh Chapel Methodist Church. The church is currently part of the Mission Central Parish.

The present church was built in 1901 on ground donated to the church in 1894 by Joseph and Mary Arthur (a daughter of John and Ann Geddes) and financed largely by a gift of $2,250 from John Geddes Jr. who had also donated a lot near the new church being built. The total cost of the original, present structure (including materials for labor) was $2,618. The church is large by rural standards, measuring 32’ wide by 42’ long with a full basement and steeple rising 65’ in the air.

Over the years a number of improvements have been made and continue to be made to the Church. A few of the new installations include:

Church Bell – 1907

Electricity – 1924

Stained glass windows – 1929

Kitchen – 1938

Driveway Pavement – 1968

Carillon – 2023