By: Mary E. Mortimer
The Zanesfield Presbyterians began holding meetings as early as 1847 and by 1851, they had thirty-two members. Under the leadership of elders Luther Smith and Joshua Robb, a lot was purchased on Bellefontaine St. A new church was constructed with mostly donated labor and materials in 1852. The church held two festivals to raise the $150 needed to purchase a bell for the tower. The congregation grew to about 300 members and then gradually decreased.
The Andrew and Susan Sloan family were early church members. Their son, Earl Sloan, became rich and famous with his Sloan’s Liniment recipe and frequently returned to his childhood home of Zanesfield. In 1913, Zanesfield held a grand homecoming celebration honoring Dr. Sloan. At that time, Dr. Sloan paid to have the church repaired, redecorated inside, and installed a new furnace and lights in honor of his late mother. He also hired local artist, Warren Cushman, to paint three large oil paintings for the front of the church. At that time the value of the paintings was estimated at $3,000. The paintings titled Faith, Hope, and Charity are still hanging in the church. One of the ladies in each of the paintings features the likeness of Cushman’s wife, Cela.
Dr. Sloan also left a $10,000 operating fund and a trust fund of $3,000; the interest was to be used as needed for the upkeep of the church. In the event of the church closing, the money was to go to the Miami Presbytery.
By 1939, the church congregation had dwindled to just a few members, and the church was closed. The next year, Rev. Guy Furbay, who was concluding a four-year pastorate at the Goshen Friends Church east of Zanesfield, recognized the need for the church to be open as a place of worship for everyone, regardless of their denominational background. He contacted the Miami Presbytery and proposed his idea for reopening the church. They were thrilled and agreed to let him have free use of the church in exchange for preserving it as the Zanesfield Community Chapel Church.
Through the efforts of many, the church was repaired and reopened with Rev. Furbay as the pastor. In 1947, three Sunday School rooms were added to the rear of the sanctuary. At that time, attendance had increased to around 40 members. Frank V. Miller led a 10-piece orchestra, and the Forget-Me-Not Sisters Club was formed.
In 1954, an organ with electronic chimes for the bell tower was purchased with money from the Sloan Fund. The first Sunday after installation, Mildred Hostetler, church organist, played “Come to the Church in the Dell” at the time when the usual “last bell” would have been rung. The chimes were played on Sunday morning and on special occasions for the village to hear.
In 1961, the Miami Presbytery appointed a special committee to investigate the conditions at the Presbyterian/Community Chapel Church. After finding only eight members, they petitioned to have the Presbyterian congregation dissolved. They expressed their desire for Rev. Furbay to continue to hold services in the church as long as he wished. By 1963, the congregation had been dissolved. It was declared that the remainder of the $10,000, the organ and chimes would be given to the newly opened Kirkmont Center, an independent nonprofit organization founded by the Presbyterian Church. The income from the $3,000 would go to help other small Presbyterian Churches.
The Miami Presbytery granted Rev. Furbay use of the church with the suggestion that the Zanesfield Community Chapel Church purchase the building and remaining contents for the sum of $1.00. By 1964, the trustees of the Community Chapel Church had full ownership.
An annex was built on the back of the church around 1970. Rev. Furbay continued to be the church pastor and helped take care of maintenance until about 1985. Over the years the church has had several pastors including Tate Antrim, Sam Swartz, Brad Cramer, Max Sidders, Randy Miller, and Walt Mansfield. Around 2000, Keith Matthews became the pastor and along with his wife, Thelma, continues to serve the church.
The Zanesfield Community Chapel Church has remained open since Rev. Furbay saw the need for a community church. Each Sunday morning the church bell has rung inviting everyone in the area to attend. However, one summer morning in 2013 as church member Mark Marmon began ringing the bell the wood supporting the bell broke. The 726 lb. bell crashed to the ground and Mark narrowly escaped serious injury or death. Phil Stoner used his backhoe to move the bell to Mark and Vicky Marmon’s garage for safekeeping. After it was determined the church insurance would not cover building a new bell tower, the Zanesfield community came together to help. Mike Johnson and others worked together to rebuild the bell tower and devise a plan to put the bell back up. By 2015, the bell was back in place and once again rings each Sunday morning.
For the 1952 one-hundred-year celebration, the church was described as “A warm-hearted, non-denominational church, dedicated to sincere faith in Jesus Christ and an honest effort to live daily by the principles of the Kingdom of God.”
The Zanesfield Community Chapel Church has a 10:30 am worship service each Sunday where everyone is welcome.
A special thank you to Thelma Matthews, Martha Fout, Vicky Marmon, and Brenda Mathys for sharing the Zanesfield Community Chapel Church history and photos.
Visit the Logan County History Center at 521 E. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, to learn more interesting aspects of Logan County History.
The History Center is open for tours Wednesday – Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
