If one studies the very early church history of this north land which one must glean from short bits of faded writings here and there, one becomes impressed with the fact that right here was one of the true lands of the early circuit rider, equaling those of the Ohio and midwest sections in adventure, romance and zeal. Not only on the south shores of the St. Lawrence river was this true, but north of the river were pioneer church workers like Barbara Heck, who was planting the seeds of Christian living throughout the wilderness country.

Sometimes the preacher of pioneer days was what was known as a local preacher, following his trade during the week and expounding the Scriptures on Sunday. Benjamin Barnes, the brickmaker and stone mason, is an example of such a life. If one visits Evans Mills one will see firmly constructed brick buildings, erected over a century ago, the brick being manufactured by this pioneer preacher of Methodism. He is said to have preached the first sermon heard in Theresa (1818) when a small company gathered in the millhouse on a Sunday to join in religious worship.

In one of the church records of the north one reads: This year (1821) a circuit appears to which a preacher is given charge, bearing the name of Indian River.” This circuit extended from Carthage to within seven miles of Ogdensburg. It included Carthage in its territory and in this entire wilderness country there were only 143 people called Methodists. Rev. James Hazen was the circuit rider. It is interesting to note the other circuits in the north and the number of members recorded at that time. There was the Oswego circuit with 321 members; Victory circuit with 420 members; Sandy Creek, 762; Watertown, 121; Black River, 343; LeRay, 431; St. Lawrence, 343; Malone, 90; and Indian River, 143; a total membership in the entire nine charges of circuits of 2,947, of which Rev. R. M. Evarts was the presiding elder.

The next year Rev. Jonathan Brooks was the circuit rider on the Indian River circuit and he reported a gain of 20 members. In 1823, Rev. Dan Barnes was the presiding elder of the wilderness district, which was fast becoming settled and he had two preachers working on the Indian River circuit, Revs. William Jones and Gardner Baker. At this time these two ministers had 30 regular preaching places and as many more as they might select as they traveled on horseback through the new lands of the pioneers. In order to cover this circuit each minister traveled on horseback 300 miles every four weeks. Their reports state that there was not a single Methodist church building on their circuit and but few churches of other denominations. The settlers were generally poor, striving to get a foothold in the new country and could just about obtain a living with no cash to spare.

As a rule these early circuit riders formed the little groups they preached to, into “classes” with an earnest devoted man of the locality, as the elder. This leader would assemble his class at regular intervals and, in a way, act as a sub-pastor, generally with good results. From many of these classes grew the Methodist churches of the north.

In the years 1828-1830, the name of Indian River circuit apparently was dropped and that of Carthage circuit put in its place. However, it is thought that the section covered was about the same (Carthage to near Ogdensburg) and it is noted that Rev. Squire Chase, the preacher at that time, made his home in Theresa as that was the central point of the circuit and he could travel out each way from that point.

When the Oneida conference was formed (1829) the appointment for the preacher was “LeRay and Carthage,” and the minister was Rev. J. H. Wallace. There was reported 641 members on this preaching charge. It was probably in 1831 when another arrangement was made and the Potsdam district was formed. For the first time Theresa charge appears in the records and it is noted that Theresa is the southern preaching point of this district and Fort Covington the northern point of the district.

*Note: In the absence of a title, this one was assigned by the typist.