For many years Hardin had a African American church, near their school, erected on ground that was given and to be used for a church for religious purposes. The church was a white frame building with appropriately styled church windows and furnishings and of a fairly large size. Ministers were Baptist and Methodist, serving on alternate Sundays. Some who served were Rev. Charles Snowden, Swaney, Beale, Moon, Chandler, Robinson, Lovell, Ramsey, Saw, and Williams. After there were no services, closing school exercises and many funerals were held there. It was torn down about 1955.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

It was just 29 years ago, in June of 1941, that a small group of Christian believers moved their meeting place at Lakeview into Hardin and invited Rev. Billy Spurgeon to pitch his tent in the city park for a tent meeting. This was the start of the present Assembly of God Church in Hardin.

Services were held on a Sunday afternoon in the home of Mrs. Ollie Lyons. Rev. Tom W. Hook was pastor at that time, and his son, Rev. Kenneth Hook, is the present pastor.

Soon the services were moved to a former school building, now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Connie Bandy and located just on the south side of the old Wabash tracks. A larger building was sought and one next to the old Odeon Theatre was obtained. This had been the Robert Boggess Funeral and Furniture store at one time.

For several years services were held in this Mission Hall, and for a few months prior to construction of the new edifice, the worship services were held in the American Legion Hall.

During the time church services were held in the Mission Hall, several pastors who became endeared to the congregation were to follow Rev. Hook after his resignation. These included Rev. N. Cleo Tapp, Rev. James E. Smith, Rev. L. V. Kitchell, Rev. Robert Cunningham, Rev. Darrell Massey, Rev. Lloyd Nelson, Mrs. Ruth Copeland and Rev. S. E. Carlsen.

It was under the leadership of Rev. Carlsen that the building plans for the present church began to take form. A groundbreaking service for the new building was held Sunday, October 14, 1956, on a lot that had been purchased several years before. The interim had allowed the church to accumulate funds for the building program.

The first service to be held in the new church was on the first Sunday of 1957. Then on June 3, 1957, the dream of the congregation became a reality as the new building was dedicated to the Lord in a special service. Rev. T. E. Gannon of Des Moines, Iowa, district superintendent, was the speaker. Roy Blankenship, mayor of Hardin, was present, spoke and welcomed the church into Hardin. Special music was brought by the Hardin High School girls’ sextet.

The modern one story structure is made of haydite blocks, painted white outside with a soft shade of green for the interior. The building has a furnace room, Sunday school rooms, nursery, restrooms, baptistery, and a sanctuary seating approximately 150 persons.

One of the most striking features is the modern tower with a white cross set to the side of the canopy at the front door entrance.

Work was done under the general direction of Rev. Carlsen. A great deal of volunteer labor went into the building, furnished by both church members and townspeople.

Other pastors to serve the church after Rev. Carlsen were: Rev. Harry Haidt, Rev. J. C. Hook, Rev. Bobby Hicks, Rev. Fred Johnson, and the present pastor, Rev. Kenneth E. Hook.

In 1967 the church purchased a spinet piano and this year they purchased pews from the Norborne Lutheran Church.

The Hardin Assembly of God is typical of the strides taken in advancement by the Assemblies of God Church everywhere.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

Services were first held in a building constructed August 1, 1891 by Mr. and Mrs. Maples and others on a plot of ground called Scott Acre on the east side of the present Seward Grove.

Later services were held in the Baptist Church on Elm Street one Sunday a month. The first pastor was Claude Taylor. The Christian Church was organized in 1902. The trustees, S. C. Robinson and J. S. Cruse had the building moved from Scott Acre to the present site. The Ladies Aid organized. Mrs. Myra Bales was president. The remodeling of the building began. Mrs. G. M. Tinsley, Mrs. Eli Frazier, Mrs. John Shackelford and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Suter were the leaders. A vestibule, two Sunday school rooms, new doors and windows were added. Mrs. Eli Frazier, Sunday school superintendent and Mrs. Joe Stapp, next president of the Ladies Aid had a baptistery built. George M. Tinsley had charge of most of the work.

A Ladies Council was later organized. Mrs. James Bryden was president. The first full time pastor was Rev. E. V. Galloway. Mr. and Mrs. Z. A. Beery were the last of the charter members. Their children provided communion chairs as a tribute to their memory. The communion service and the preparation for it was just one of the many faithful services rendered by Mr. and Mrs. Beery.

A parsonage was built July 1, 1946 adjoining the church. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Mason gave part of the ground. Rev, and Mrs. Elburn Moore served the church. Rev, and Mrs. J. Morgan Derr came in November 1952 but he lived only one year. His wife presented a cross and candles in his memory. E. P. Legg, member of the Richmond Christian Church, has served in place of a minister many Sundays. On December 14, 1953 Rev. and Mrs. John Armstrong began their seven years’ service to the church. Many improvements were made. Funds were derived from the annual Sportsman dinners and many other community dinners. The remodeled building was dedicated. The first wedding in the church was on September 4, 1955 uniting in marriage two young members, Miss Kitty Sue Marshall and Elvin Dean Blankenship.

Elmore Marshall presented a building plan to the church in 1962. Members and friends added Sunday School rooms. On May 15, 1963 a tornado damaged the building. Again improvements were made. Rev. James Crider was the minister for seven years, commuting from Prairie Village, Kansas.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

Baptists held their first services in the vicinity of Hardin in the winter of 1815, under the leadership of Bro. Finis Clark. These services were held in the log hut of Isaac Martin near the site of the present Wabash Bridge. Bro. Turnage was the first regular Baptist preacher in the community. He began preaching in 1816.

A church known as the Walnut Grove Community Church was organized between 1850 and 1859. It was built on an acre of ground bought from Scyrena and J. H. Snowden on the south side of the present Hardin Cemetery. Trustees were W. B. Hughes and A. T. Boggess. Several denominations worshipped there. Among the Baptist preachers were Bro. Beason and Bro. Spurlock. It is believed that no services were held there after 1888.

On August 23, 1886 land was bought in Hardin on East Elm Street from Florence and Andrew Rinquist for $120.00 for a Baptist Church. The trustees were: Thomas Porterfield, H. C. Boggess and W. B. Merrifield. This church was built in 1887. Bro. S. M. Brown preached the dedicatory sermon and Bro. Charles N. Crouch was the first pastor, called in June 1887.

A Sunday School was organized in 1888, a Missionary Society in 1895 and a Training Union in 1926. A parsonage was built in 1925.

Mrs. lye Lentz was church clerk, Mrs. J. E. Wood was a teacher during the early years and Dr. William McGrew was Sunday School superintendent from 1890 to 1902.

In 1946, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Rhodes presented five lots on Main Street to the church, on which to build a new church, or to move the old church and remodel. On April 27, 1947, Mr. S. D. Thomas, the senior deacon, turned the first shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony. By May 1947 the basement was completed and the church moved. The auditorium was enlarged, a new educational wing added and the whole building brick veneered. The first services in the new auditorium were held in April 1948. The debt on the building was retired in March 1951 and the dedicatory service was May 30, 1951.

Excavation under the new educational building added two rooms for the Junior department in 1960.

Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Rhodes presented a new piano to the church. A new organ was purchased in 1957 and Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Myers gave new pulpit furniture to the church in memory of their daughter Doris. Mrs. D. A. Whitmer gave chimes in memory of her husband and daughter, D. A. Whitmer and Eulalah. New upholstered pews were added in 1968.

In 1949, a group from the Hardin Baptist Church started a Sunday School at the Mt. Pleasant Church. This church had not been used for a number of years. From this beginning, the church has been reorganized and now has services each Sunday with a regular pastor.

In 1961, the Hardin Baptist Church and the Henrietta Baptist Church united to co-sponsor the Missouri City Mission. In 1969 this mission became an organized church. They have a new church building and are now self— supporting.

We have records of six young men who have entered the ministry from the Hardin Baptist Church. They are: Harry Moore, C.V. Day, Oz Quick, M. C. Wright, Jr., Paul Douglas and Bennie Early. Oz and Mary Quick are now missionaries in Taiwan.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

Reverend B.H. Spencer organized the Hardin United Methodist Church in 1845. The first church building was erected in the community in 1859 and was the old Walnut Grove Church. It stood in the eastern part of the Hardin Cemetery and was a union church. When the Wabash railroad was built the town moved from the old site to the present site and the building was moved to enable the people to walk to church. In 1870 a schoolhouse was built south of the depot and some of the church services were held there. The first church building erected in Hardin was the Methodist Church and was located near First Street. When the Santa Fe Railroad was built in 1887 the church building was moved to the present site. On a Sunday morning in November of 1895 the church structure burned. After this a building committee was organized and the present church building was completed in 1896. Bishop Hendricks preached the dedicatory sermon.

In the beginning the church was referred to as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In May of 1938 a union took place that changed the name to Methodist Church. In recent years another union took place with the former Evangelical United Brethren Church that changed the name to United Methodist.

During the Flood of 1993 the church basement was flooded and with help from United Methodist Churches across the country the Fellowship Hall was added to the church and dedicated in January of 1995.

The Hardin Methodist Church provides a friendly welcome to visitors, individuals, couples, and families looking for a church home. The members of the church hear sermons based on God’s Word each Sunday and have an in-depth bible study on Wednesday nights. The congregation has a variety of talents that are shared during the worship service and Sunday School. The pastor and church congregation invite you to join them for services on Sunday or Bible Study on Wednesday evenings.

About the year 1895, several families in the community organized the Church of Christ and held their meetings in the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. After a couple of years, they decided to buy some land and build a meeting house of their own. Two acres of land were purchased from Jerry H. Bryan, which was a short distance north of where they had been meeting. One acre of the land was for the church building and one acre for a graveyard. A frame building was erected about the year 1896. Church and Sunday school were held in the new building. Church and Sunday school had been held regularly every Sunday.

The church has never had a resident pastor but visiting ministers have come and preached. The congregation grew until the membership was around one hundred fifty. Around 1912 the original church building burned and a new and more commodious frame building was immediately erected. A number of people have used the graveyard to bury members of their families.

The following families were instrumental in the founding and the early life of the church:

H. C. Brenneman, S. R. Heiney, John H. Renick, J. M. Rhodes, J. I. Herring, S. P. Wheeler, John Donaldson, James Leyda, W. E. Clark, J. G. Collier, T. S. Martin, Morton Wheeler, James Parnell, Dee Bowman, and others.

The church building and graveyard have been maintained in good condition through all of the years. Services are still being conducted each Sunday. (Webmaster's note: The church is no longer in use.)

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

May 10, 1895, by the authority of the Upper Missouri Presbytery, a commission consisting of Rev. Joshua Barbee of Excelsior Springs, Rev. J. S. Vantermeter and Elder Doctor George W. Buchanan of Richmond, met in Hardin and organized a Presbyterian church U.S. to be known as the Morton-Hardin Presbyterian Church. There were twenty-two charter members.

A new Presbyterian Church was built in Hardin about 1904, property of the Morton-Hardin Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian congregation in Hardin and the Presbyterians of Morton continued to be known as one church, the Morton-Hardin Presbyterian Church. The church employed a minister full time, who lived in Hardin and preached Sundays - a month at Hardin and two Sundays at Morton. The first full time minister was Rev. Guy B. Duff, who came as pastor, newly graduated from the Seminary at Louisville, Kentucky, in the summer of 1904.

On February 22, 1905, the Platte Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church deeded to the Morton-Hardin Presbyterian Church U.S. its one-fourth interest in their union church building at Morton.

At a meeting of the Upper Missouri Presbytery at Walnut Grove on September 17, 1919, Presbyters granted the petition of the members of the Morton-Hardin Presbyterian Church to divide the church into two separate churches, one to be known as the Morton Presbyterian Church - the other as the Hardin Presbyterian Church. The Presbytery also gave all the Presbyterian interest in the union church building at Morton to the Morton Presbyterian Church, all property rights in the Presbyterian Church building at Hardin to the Hardin Presbyterian Church. Some years later the Hardin Presbyterian Church was dissolved and the church building was sold and made into a residence.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

Early in the 1860’s a few families of Brethren moved into the community, which is now known as Rockingham. The nearest organized Church of the Brethren was near Polo, Missouri. Not being able to attend church regularly the Brethren met in homes and schoolhouses.

The Wakenda church was organized in 1871. Meetings were held in the old Union Schoolhouse until 1886 when a new church house was built. The membership grew until it numbered about 400. Leaders thought it would be best to divide the church into three congregations. Accordingly this division was made in 1897. The three congregations formed were Wakenda, Rockingham and Pleasant View, later called Bethany.

Rockingham built a church house about one-half mile north of the present building. This building burned in 1905. The present house was built in the same year. The west part of the church was built on in 1918 for Sunday School rooms.

In 1922 a parsonage was built on the church lot to the north. Rev. W. W. Blough who was the first paid pastor first occupied this parsonage. Other pastors who lived in this parsonage and served the church were Rev. 0. H. Fieler, Rev. E. H. Mathis, Rev. E. F. Sherfy, Rev. Jarboe, and Rev. Lee Kendall, whose family was living there in 1947 when this house burned. In 1948 the church purchased the Will Hollar farm for our parsonage. At the present time the pastor, Rev. Farrell Culler, lives in the house and the members donate calves for the pasture and sell them for church expenses. Other pastors who have lived on the church farm are Rev. H. Mankey and Rev. Harold Correll. Rev. Thomas Murray, a student at the American Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, served the church as pastor for three years. His services were much appreciated by the members.

In 1958, during the pastorate of Rev. Harold Correll, the Wakenda and Rockingham churches merged, forming one organization and worshiping at the Rockingham Church.

The Rockingham Church has always had an active Ladies’ organization known as the Ladies’ Aid. Many of the church women have served as president. The biggest project of the year, with the help of the men, is the making of approximately 1000 quarts of cider apple-butter in the old open topped copper kettles.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

The Jacob Snowden homestead was about five miles southeast of Hardin. Mary Snowden (born January 8, 1836), daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Russell) Snowden, was of a deeply religious nature. She was a member of the Methodist Church South in Hardin. A great deal of her time was spent in church work. It was from her efforts, more than any other that Snowden Chapel was built. She contributed liberally of her means and energy in order to secure it. Services had been held in the Mallory school building.

James Cole donated one-half acre of ground in 1893. The neighbors built the church. The Rockingham Church donated some benches. Rev. Proctor was pastor at the Hardin Methodist Church and helped promote Snowden Chapel. Rev. Myers dedicated the new church. It rained in torrents all day but the church was filled. The minister tried to raise the money to finish paying the debt. When he asked who would give twenty-five dollars and there was no response, he said he would donate the twenty-five dollars and he went on with the dedication.

Miss Mary Snowden moved her membership to Snowden Chapel. Members from the Methodist Church South from Shanghai came to assist in the services. Other charter members were: Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Chambers, Mr. and Mrs. W. P. McQueen, Mr. and Mrs. Gail Swinney, Mr. and Mrs. George Buchanan, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Buchanan, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Broughton, Mrs. Anna Mallory, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Thompson, Walter Dickson and Eudora Dickson. Later came Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cole, the Henrys, Hamptons, Freemans, DeMints, Hollars, Millers, Edwards, Bowmans and others.

Some of the ministers were Rev. Meyers, Rev. Hardaway, Rev. Swann, Rev. Baker and Rev. Ginn. Brother Sam Shirkey came once a month from Rockingham to preach. Sunday School and church services were held in the afternoon because the ministers had services elsewhere in the morning. There were Christmas programs and Children’s Day programs. After services, people would visit a long time. Revivals were held once a year in August. A Professor Wheeler conducted a singing school. Everyone who cared to pay a one-dollar fee could attend. They met once a week for two months during the winter. There was no organ. They used a tuning fork. Willie McQueen and Eudora Dickson canvassed the neighborhood and asked for one dollar from each family. They raised forty dollars and an organ was purchased. The women always sat on the north side of the church and the men on the south side. This irked Rev. Swann. Mayme McQueen, Lulu Whittington, Ruth Buchanan and Roberta DeMint played the organ.

Snowden Chapel was active for many years. Finally the building was used for a residence. The last owner was Ed Cornthwaite and the building burned accidentally in the early 1920’s.

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)

In 1857, David B. Bowman and family came to Hardin from Rockingham County, Virginia. A farm of two hundred acres of land with a two-room log house with attic and shed was bought in 1858. This farm was located about six miles north of Hardin. Mr. Bowman’s wife was a member of the Brethren Church. In 1858, the VanTrumps and Spitzers came from Rockingham County. Virginia. In March 1869 came the family of Samuel B. Shirkey and David B. Rhodes from Virginia. They were members of the Brethren Church. David B. Bowman had become a member and all of these people began having meetings in three houses and a schoolhouse.

On October 4 and 5, 1869, the first Love Feast was held at the home of David B. Bowman. He had built a large house, which is still standing northeast of the present Wakenda Church and Cemetery.

The first organization of the members of the Church of the Brethren was in 1871. These fourteen members were: Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Shirkey, Mr. and Mrs. David B. Bowman, Mr. and Mrs. John VanTrump, Mr. and Mrs. John Hase, and Mr. and Mrs. David B. Rhodes. These members set about to build a church house to worship In. David B. Bowman donated the land and native timber for the framework of the church. It was built in 1872 and 1873 on the south side of the road from where the present church stands. The first church was later torn down and lumber used to build a church on the north side of the road in 1895. Rocks for the foundation were quarried on the David B. Bowman land. Land for David Bowman and son, Jacob F. Bowman, gave the church and cemetery and part of the materials.

The church merged with the Rockingham Church of The Brethren in 1958. The pastor at that time was Rev. Harold Correll. In the summer months funerals are still held in the church. The cemetery is well kept.

(Webmaster's note: In approximately the late 1970s, the church was destroyed by a tornado. The cemetery is still well kept.)

Source: Hardin, Missouri: A Centennial History (1870-1970)