________________ (Taken from The Leonardville Echo, Thursday, May 15, 1912.) METHODIST CHURCH BURNED FRIDAY EVENING Building and Fixtures Covered by $1,200 -- Valued in the Neighborhood of $4,000 COULDN'T SAVE A THING --- TROUBLE WITH WATERWORKS Struck by Lightening About 5:00 O'clock; Must of Been Burning About 40 Minutes Before Noticed. Will Rebuild At Once at $4,000 Church Leonardville, Kansas, May 15 -- The Leonardville Methodist church was struck by lightening last Friday evening at about 5:00 p.m. and was burned to the ground. The one who first noticed the fire was Mrs. Ludwig, who lives about a block south of the church. Mrs. Ludwig rushed to the Bohnenblust blacksmith shop and the news was spread over the town as quickly as possible, although some did not know anything about it, probably due to the fierce electrical storm, making the use of telephone almost impossible. A large crowd soon gathered, but the inability of the fire department to get the valve loose at the tower, there was not a drop of water used. The fire had gained such headway, it would of probably been impossible to of quenched the flames; in this a person cannot truthfully say; water might of stopped the flames, but the general opinion was not inclined to believe so. A strong wind from the northeast raging and the fire started somewhere in the northeast corner of the church. The building was soon so full of smoke it was impossible to go in and save a thing; we only could stand and watch it burn. Had the rain not been falling at the time of the fire and before, several more buildings would of been destroyed. Mrs. Ludwig's coal house caught fire three times, but was immediately put out by the watchers. The coal house was about a block from the fire, right in a line with the wind and smoke. Everything was well soaked with about an inch and a quarter of rainfall before the fire started. It is impossible for anyone to say just where the church was struck; it may of struck the steeple -- no one is able to say. The general thoughts are that it did strike the steeple and then caught afire in the Sunday school room. It seems as though churches are stuck more than any other buildings, probably due to the steeples. P.A. Nickelson and Fred Bohnenblust were the first to arrive at the church. The south door was broken open with the intention of going in and saving something, but the smoke gushed out so thick they soon changed their minds. The hose carts pulled mighty heavy up to the fire through the mud and the men who were helping were about all in when they arrived. Seth Kindstrom rang the bell but on account of the storm several did not hear the alarm. Edward Sikes emptied one of the store fire extinguishers on the flames through the east window, but to no benefit. It subdued the flames some where the stream hit, but was soon exhausted. The church was built by the early settlers 24 years ago, in the year 1889; has been through three small fires before this one, all of them being extinguished before very much damage was done. The corner stone was torn apart Saturday; and inside the galvanized box the papers, etc., were burned. The church record and other articles very dear to the hearts of the old timers were destroyed. At the services held in the opera house Sunday morning it was decided to erect a new building at once. One thousand dollars was raised that morning by subscriptions. With this thousand and the twelve hundred dollars insurance is a mighty good start toward erecting a $4000 building. A committee was elected to investigate and see the different plans, the price, etc., and then bring it up before the church. Sure Leonardville can build a new church and it won't take them long to raise the required amount either. It would seem out of the question to think that we would lay down and not build. There isn't enough interest taken in the church. Remember, those of you who have children there is no better place for you to send your children. Think of living in a city where you couldn't send your children to Sunday school for the lack of churches. Yes, we have several churches in town. You probably think there is too many. How many English speaking churches are there? It would look like it would be impossible to get along in our little city without one English speaking church. Yes, all the churches in town will be English speaking churches in years to come, but just how long it will be is a question. The German Evangelical church already has English preaching in the evenings. The services were held in the opera house last Sunday and probably will be for a while, but thoughts are now diverted to getting hold of a tent to have the meetings in this summer. ________________ | ________________  The first Leonardville Methodist Episcopal Church building was built in 1890. It was struck by lightening during a "fierce electrical storm" on May 9, 1912 and was completely destroyed by fire.
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 The Leonardville Methodist Episcopal Church was re-built the following year in 1913. ________________
In 1939 after the merger of several branches of Methodist churches the church was named the Leonardville Methodist Church. ________________ |