The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is located in the southeast quarter of Section 25, Morgan Township, in the village of Shandon. The land for the Church was donated, in consideration of $1.00, by John B. Walther, Sr. and his wife, Emilia (Emily) Walther, to Jacob Epp, Sr. and Mathias Raisch and their successors in office in trust for the Church and under the special care of the Ohio German Conference. The deed was signed by John B. and Emilia Walther on April 25, 1886, and was transferred and recorded on May 15, 1886.

The German Church was built by John Pfotzer of Harrison, Ohio. He employed two other bricklayers, John Tittle and Page Sortwell, both of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Henry Reiser and John Scheidt were employed to carry brick. The building was erected in a little more than a month.

The bell was purchased from E.W. Vanduzen and C. T. Tift of the Buckeye Bell Foundry, 102 and 104 E. Second Street, Cincinnati, on July 17, 1886. The bell, weighing 552 pounds, was purchased and installed for $108.00.

Before this church was erected, the Germans held services in the Old Welsh Church (Community House) in New London (Shandon), Ohio. Among the leaders in the organization of the church were John and Fred Walther, Jacob and Killian Doelker and John and Mathias Scheering.

Services were held every Sunday, and every three months quarterly meetings were held in one of the four churches which belonged to the German United Brethren Church Circuit. These included churches located at Shandon, Harrison, and New Baltimore in Ohio and in Trenton, Indiana. Protracted meetings (revivals) were held for two weeks every winter at one of the four churches, each church taking its turn serving as host.

Rev. Valentine Assel of Dry Ridge, Ohio, was pastor when the church was erected. Later his son, Rev. John Assel became the minister. The last minister was Rev. Schwab from the United Brethren Church in Hamilton. He would conduct Sunday morning services in Hamilton, then hold afternoon services in Shandon.

The Saga of Paddy’s Run explains the decline of the church:

"The congregation came from many parts of Germany and the German language was used in the church through its entire existence. As the younger generation preferred services in English and the older people became fewer and less influential, the church gradually disbanded."

Another pressure on the church to disband was the anti-Germanic sentiments after World War 1.

An auction was held after the Church disbanded. Frederick J. Walther, son of John B. and Emilia Walther, purchased the property from the Trustees of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ of Shandon on May 7, 1921.

For a short time the Church was used as a general store and was operated by William (Billy) and Edna Milholland Burns, then it became a storage building for farm crops such as hay, wheat, corn and straw.
 

 © 2000 by the Butler County Historical Society