EARLY CHURCH

Inscription

EARLY CHURCH
BUILT ON LAND DONATED 1841
BY JOHN AND CATHARINE DUNN.
EARLY LEADERS INCLUDED NOBLE
FAMILY. LATER MERGED TO BECOME
RWJ UNITED METHODIST CHURCH.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2026

In 1841, John and Catharine Dunn donated land to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal congregation in the town of Johnsburg in Warren County, New York to build a house of worship. Catharine (1801-1891) and her husband John (1793-1856), a Johnsburg town official, were large landowners in the area. As a young woman, Catharine had received a gift of 480 acres of land from her parents Nicholas and Margaret Roosevelt. Their homestead was located adjacent to the property given to the church. John was a farmer and miller, operating a saw and grist mill on Mill Creek. He served as town supervisor in 1837 and as town justice in 1841. John passed away in 1856 and Catharine in 1891, and both are buried in the church’s cemetery beside their homestead.

Early leaders of the Methodist Episcopal church in Johnsburg included Rev. David Noble and John Noble. According to a historical account written by David Noble, the church was completed in 1843 and received additional improvement in 1879.

By the late 1990s, two other local Methodist communities in Riparius and Wevertown had merged with the Johnsburg Methodist church to form RWJ United Methodist Church, which continues to serve the community as of 2026.