Stone Church

The man who laid these walls appears on the plaque only as a board member. James L. Hoyt, a stonemason from New York State, supervised the work after a member gave the land in 1899, and the congregation quarried and hauled the stone themselves. The Ladies Aid raised most of the money for materials, and lumber was scarce after dry weather and grasshoppers. Daniel Kidd's 1978 nomination describes speckled rubble walls, a south front with an oculus holding a name-and-date plaque, and pews that appear original. The church entered the National Register on January 25, 1979.

What the plaque says

Stone Church In June of 1892 a Methodist Protestant congre- gation was organized in Logan Township, Hitchcock County, by the Rev. M.H. Noe. When the congregation outgrew its sod church, this stone structure was built on this site on land donated by Rebecca Hart. The stone was quarried five miles southwest of the church, and all work was done by hand, including cutting and hewing the rock to size. The church building was completed and dedicated in 1900 during the pastoral term of the Rev. J. E. Darby. The first board members were Wyman Mills, James L. Hoyt, Aaron McKnight, C.O. Hart, and Minnie Smith. In 1904 the St. Paul Methodist Protestant Church was merged with the United Brethren in Christ and in February, 1907, the group was organized as United Brethren. A vigorous Sunday school program was inaugurated. The Stone Church also served as the center of community activity. Regular church services were discontinued in 1951. In 1975 the Stone Church Community Association was formed to restore and preserve the structure as a memorial to area pioneers. Stone Church Community Association Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Massacre Canyon Monument — 10 mi
  A granite shaft east of Trenton above the canyon where Lakota warriors attacked a Pawnee buffalo-hunting camp on August 5, 1873, a year before the Pawnee left Nebraska.
• Senator George Norris State Historic Site — 12 mi
  The McCook house George W. Norris kept as his home base for forty-two years, given to the state with its furniture by his wife Ellie, by the senator who wrote the lame-duck amendment.

More markers nearby

• Culbertson, First Hitchcock County Seat — 8.3 mi
• Massacre Canyon — 10 mi
• George William Norris, 1861-1944 — 12 mi
• The Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express — 22 mi