While there are variations in the records, historian Swander (in his supplement) remembers that Jeu Hawk and Louie Hugh were sent to China by First Christian Church.

J. F. Ghormley had converted over 3,000 before arriving in Portland.

Lee Tong, a graduate of Eugene Bible University, took leadership of the work until 1915. Many Chinese laborers had come to America to build the railroads such as the line through Amity and Monmouth. With the change in immigration policy toward oriental people, the work and the Chinese population declined and was eventually closed.

Pictured at the right is John Fletcher Ghormley, vigorous and energetic minister at First Christian beginning in 1897. When he left to establish new churches in 1903, the congregation had reached the level of 600 members. After leaving 1st Christian, J. F. Ghormley moved across the Willamette River to work with the Eastside Christian Church, the Kern Park Christian Church and the Montavilla Church.

Mr. Ghormley was a graduate of Eureka College in Illinois. Prior to moving to the Northwest, he had worked as State Evangelist in California. Mr. Ghormley conveyed his passion for preaching to his family, because two of his sons became ordained Christian ministers. See the entry below for the Montavilla Church.

First Christian Church remains affiliated with the Disciples.

Sycamore / Pleasant Valley

Historian C. F. Swander records a congregation reporting from Sycamore, on the south side of Powell Butte on Foster Road. This was 1891. The census shows this was a farming community. Nelson A. Flinn from West Virginia was the postmaster. The name Sycamore was used less after the Post office was closed in 1901. The group appears to be the same church that was also known as Pleasant Valley and may have met in that school house.

It is reasonable to think that this congregation was at one time connected with First Christian Church in downtown Portland. The rails of the narrow-gauge Portland Traction Railroad (its name was changed frequently) were at the edge of the village in 1891. (The paved right-of-way is now known as the Springwater Corridor.)

Sycamore residents would have had access to the downtown First Christian Church, but the trip was long and it was not easy to take the neighbors to church. It made sense to meet right in the village.

The congregation is listed in the Disciples of Christ Year book for 1892 with 10 members. N.A. Flynn (the postmaster) is the contact person. Under the heading of "pupils and teachers," 35 are shown, so their outreach was larger than the membership total indicates.

Rodney Avenue

This congregation was first established by David Wetzel in 1893 as Third Christian Church. The name was soon changed to the Rodney Avenue Christian Church. It met at the SE corner of NE Knott and NE Rodney Avenue. This is one block west of present Highway 99, near Emanuel Hospital. The building had a 55' bell tower.

The congregation was most certainly started by members of First Christian Church who did not want to make the long trip by carriage to down-town Portland. The preacher (or former preacher) from First Christian was the founding minister. By 1899, A. D. Skaggs was the minister.

There is a profile of A. D. Skaggs.

The congregation later merged with the Woodlawn Christian Church.

Woodlawn

The Woodlawn Christian Church built further north and east of the Rodney Avenue Church. Records show they began in 1895 and a 1909 map shows their building just east of the intersection of E. 6th on the north side of Liberty.

The building sported a gymnasium larger than the church meeting area, a unique feature in that era.

Rodney Avenue merged with Woodlawn and built half way between, forming the Mallory Avenue Christian Church.

Kern Park Christian Church link

1st building of Kern Park Church at 69th and Pardee.

Kern Park Christian Church is the outgrowth of a small Sunday School. The first service was held in 1905 over a store building at 67th and Foster Road. This was on the wagon trail leading from Philip Foster's home in Eagle Creek to Portland where his sister lived. There were nine students and three teachers in that original Sunday School. The offering was fifteen cents. The work grew until the building pictured was built in 1907 at 69th and Pardee. J.F. Ghormley was minister at the time.

The church has grown steadily over the years and now occupies a significant part of its block with added parking on another block. The church has kept better-than-average records and a researcher can contact the office (503-774-8819) for a detailed story of the growth of this congregation.

For many years Kern Park Christian was a Disciples congregation, but in 1970, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to become Independent. To read the story of Kern Park Christian is to read a history of benevolent and mission work, of church growth and personal victories.

Central Christian Church

In its earliest days, Portland was on the west side of the Willamette River. (For those not acquainted, the river divides present Portland as it flows from the south to eventually merge with the Columbia River.) First Christian Church was on the west side of the river - where the people were.

It seemed logical for disciples on the east side of the river to begin their own services. The man launching the work on the east side of the river was "Bro. Hystrom," a gentleman of Swedish heritage. He is recorded as working there in the Christian Standard of 1889. That same summer, the work was taken by Bethany-educated R. M. Messick.

The actual location of the Christian Church on the east side of the river has been learned from a panorama located in the Library of Congress. A portion of that view in on this local link.

The congregation was incorporated with the State of Oregon on November 20, 1890 by James Simpson, J.A. Monroe and F.J. Watkins.

L. C. Haulman was preaching for the congregation, followed by J. F. Stewart in 1892. About this time, it began to be called Central in some reports.

The 1911 Central Christian building at E. 20th and Salmon. It was built from Blue Tenino sandstone and, according to its advertising, seated 2,000 people. Standing is front is most certainly J. F. Ghormley and his lady Mariel.

This church met in a storefront at what is now 34th and Main about 1904. J. Fletcher Ghormley (pictured above) was the minister for seven years. It was named East Side Christian Church.

In 1909 the congregation built a temporary building at 19th and Salmon while a permanent building was being constructed at 20th and Salmon. The building was completed and named Central Christian Church. Soon it became apparent the church could not afford the building and it was sold and is now Hinson Memorial Baptist Church.

Later the congregation moved to 12th and Taylor where they remained until 1929. Their next move was to the building at 39th and Seneca (by Interstate 84). The group disbanded temporarily because of a major theft, but soon reappeared 180 strong at 25th and Madison. The year was 1932. It was called Christian Temple and O.D. Harris was the preacher.

By 1952 the church was located at 27th and Hawthorne and the venerable Ralph Holcomb was the minister. We have a 2¢ postcard that Ralph wrote to a visitor that year and the church's photograph is on the back.

Alger Fitch and Dallas Meserve are among the prominent church leaders that have emerged from Central Christian Church. Central is now located in a fine facility near 39th and Hawthorne.

The Central building houses the Portland classes of Northwest College of the Bible, a four year preacher training school under the supervision of Central's elders.

Lents

Church of Christ building in Lents Courtesy of Will Tebbs

By 1900, the division over the use of instrumental music in the church assembly was well under way. The first recorded congregation in Portland that began with the a capella preference is the old Lents congregation at 84th and Insley in the Lents district of S. E. Portland. The building still stands and is pictured here, though is has been used for many purposes since it housed the Church of Christ. That startup date was sometime before 1912. The congregation that emerged from these years is today's Central Church of Christ in Portland.

Montavilla / Crossroads link

G. K. Berry

The Montavilla name is a contraction of Mount Tabor Villa. The cumbersome name was quickly replaced by Montavilla by popular usage. The historic congregation in this section of northeast Portland has had several names over time. Beginning in 1910 the Montavilla Christian Tabernacle was "mothered" by the First Christian Church of Portland, with George K. Berry serving as founding minister. Mr. Berry had moved to Portland from Helena, Montana Territory in 1890.

The Montavilla building, built in stages.

The new congregation met at first in the IOOF Hall at 80th and Glisan. By 1911, 60 names were on the church roll. In 1912 a basement building was built at 550 N.E. 76th Avenue and the church moved in. In 1914, J. Fletcher Ghormley opened his ministry at Montavilla and encouraged the church to complete their building. In the fall of 1915 work began and continued steadily until its completion in February of 1916.

In the spring of 1915, Ghormley's son J. Carlos Ghormley replaced his father as minister and continued for a year or so until moving to the Rodney Avenue Christian Church in 1916.

The front of the building was graced by four large, round columns which supported the balcony. Inside was a large auditorium with a platform that extended across the entire width of the building where for 33 years, beginning in 1935, hundreds of people could "Hear A. Word Preach The Word."

A. Word

The life of the controversial Archie Word is detailed in his biography Voice of Thunder, Heart of Tears written by Victor Knowles and published by College Press.

Editor's note: Voice of Thunder has been digitized and is available on this site.

Over time, the congregation has set national records for sending men and women into vocational Christian service. Prominent among the more than 100 people are Glen Ballard, Warren Bell, Don DeWelt, Dave DeWelt, Elston Knight, Burl Shoemake, and Francis Winder.

This original building burned due to faulty electrical wiring and another building was built next door. That structure was sold and the church moved to a new building on 102nd Avenue. It eventually became the 600 member Crossroads Church. See their Web Site for more information. For additional information about the early history of the congregation, call the church office and ask to see Montavilla Memories, a well researched history by Ron Carlson.

Sellwood

We haven't uncovered the exact beginnings of the Sellwood Christian Church, but it was probably formed in 1905 by Christians in the Sellwood area that did not want to ferrry across the river to attend First Christian Church downtown. (The Sellwood Bridge was not built until 1925.)

Names connected with the emerging congregation include Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, Mrs. Anna Ewing, Mr. and Mrs. T. Garden, George and Martha Hicks, the Hite family, Abbie Hood, Mrs. Erben Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lyle, Mrs. Mayme Marshall, Mr. and Mrs. John McNeil, Mr. and Mrs. Les Robinson, the John Stanley family, Mrs. Minnie Ware

Under construction at SE 17th and SE Nehalem in 1912. The man on the right is likely J. A. Melton.

The church had met in Wall's Hall above Wall's Drug Store, and other places. The preacher at that time was Andrew J. Adams. Others preachers connected with these startup years included E. E. Jones and Thomas G. Pieton. When the church built a building, the preacher was J. A. Melton.

Disciples historian Clarence Swander had an office in Portland during some of these years, so he had first-hand information about this congregation. He says:

This little church has had a colorful history. Much of its life it has spent in halls and storerooms. In 1912, with the aid of the City Mission Board, they erected a little home on East 17th and Nehalem Streets.

The building dedication was May 12th of 1912. In attendance were G. K. Berry of the Montavilla Church, J. M. Orrick of the Kern Park Church, J. R. Johnson from St. Johns, Edward Wright from the Woodlawn Church, W. F. Reagor from First Christian Church, W. D. (or B. W.) Bass from Rodney Avenue, John Fletcher Ghormley from Central Christian, J. A. Melton from Sellwood and Dr. Swander. He continues:

Difficulties arose which caused the congregation to abandon the church house to the bats and they began to keep house again in a rented hall. About 1920 they purchased an abandoned church property at East 8th Street and Spokane Avenue. They improved the property and changed the corporate name of the church to Spokane Avenue Church of Christ. . . .

The "difficulties" Dr. Swander refers to was the assessment to pave both 17th Avenue and Milwaukie Avenues. The church could not afford the paving assessment so the building was sold and the group returned to meeting in public halls. However, the little group pressed on in spite of their setback.

In checking the fire maps of 1924, the Spokane Avenue Church of Christ mentioned by Swander was clearly visible at the northeast corner of SE Spokane Avenue and SE 9th Avenue.

Our special thanks to Eileen Fitzsimons and Frank Purcell for research assistance on this entry.

Englewood

The Building Built in One Day. Morning view.

Note the forest where houses now stand.

Noon view.

Evening view.

By evening, the fire was warming for an evening service While these photos fall below our usual standards for publication, we include them here because of their unique nature. Click for a larger version of the finished building.

Two very small church groups came together in Northeast Portland on February 12, 1922 to plan a "workers bee." One group had been meeting in a second floor dance hall at 28th and Alberta and the other group, also meeting in the area, was called the Tabernacle Church.

Correction: Our source for much of this entry said that Tibbs Maxey was present as a leader. We had included this data. However, this cannot be true based on his obituary in the Christian Standard of January 27, 2002. He would have been just 12 years of age when this congregation was launched.

A 100' square lot at 35th and Killingsworth was donated by W.E. Lewis. This was two blocks beyond the city limits and out in the country. (The city limits are now miles to the east.) Word was spread that these brethren needed help with the construction project and help came.

On February 22, 42 carpenters (including seven preachers) gathered to turn $500 worth of lumber into a 30' x 40' church building. The first service was held in it that evening! This was the first Protestant church building in N.E. Portland. The preachers included Harold Griffis, historian Clarence Swander, W.E. Lewis, and J.R. Johnson.

Now, more than 75 years later, the congregation is meeting on the same parcel of ground. The forest is gone and the neighbors have moved in. Many members now come from the immediate neighborhood. The first building was replaced by a second and then a third. All of this was made possible by the sacrifice of saints long gone from this earth.

William Ervin Lewis and Gertrude (Trudy) Lewis

William Ervin Lewis (1891-1970), from Brookfield, Missouri, was a printer by trade, working for Willamette Lithographing Co. in Portland. He served the church for its first 14 years, largely supporting himself through his printing business. He married Trudy Wagener, originally of LaGrande, when he was nearly 50 years of age. This may be a wedding photo.

It appears that Mr. Lewis had been the preacher at the Corbett Christian Church in 1918. In his Master's Thesis for the University of Oregon, Victor Emanuel Hoven lists an "Erwin Lewis" as the preacher at Corbett. This is very likely the same man.

At its inception, the congregation was called the Killingsworth Church of Christ. In 1924 the name of the church was officially changed to the Englewood Church of Christ to reflect the name of the Englewood district of NE Portland. In 1926 the name was again changed to the current Englewood Christian Church. The present facility was built in 1959 with an educational wing added in 1972. The congregation is Independent.

To DOCHS 7/03

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