In 1867, and in 1873, Louisville was inundated by the floodwaters of the river. In 1873, when the water rose to fifty feet, it is said that C.R. Love paddled a canoe into the Church and took out the archives that were kept in the pulpit.

Fearing another great flood, drastic change was needed for the town of Louisville. In order to set minds at ease and control future rises in the river, the Fort Loudon Dam was built by the Tennessee Valley Authority.  

The Louisville Methodist Church moved to Louisville Road.  When the congregation decided to move the church, they changed its name to St. Mark's. This change was approved at a called Charge Conference meeting held in May of 1942, and the vote was unanimous.

The bricks on the old Louisville Methodist Church were very carefully taken down, brick by brick.  They were then cleaned by the women and the Pastor so they could be used to reconstruct a new sanctuary.  

The present sanctuary was constructed and a dedication service was held on November 19, 1944 for St. Mark`s Methodist Church.

In 1836, the first deed was written for the erection of a Methodist Episcopal Church and a Seminary of Learning in the town of Louisville, TN.   Only five years before Nathaniel Cox had been appointed postmaster and a few years after the first settlers had come to this area.  The first church was a simple frame building located near the river, where the old cemetery was located.

In the early years, Louisville was a busy and growing town.  After steamboats started regular runs up and down the Tennessee River, Louisville (which was located on one of the river bends) became an important trade center.

Considering Louisville’s rapid growth, that simple frame church building soon proved to be inadequate.

In 1853, the new church was completed. The brick in the great twenty-two inch walls were burnt locally by a man who traveled through the country. The fine translucent glass windows were made very large in keeping with the general plans of the building.

Our History

In 2023, St. Mark’s made the decision to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and joined the more conservative Global Methodist denomination.

Follow this link to find out more about who we are as Global Methodists

Want to know more about the Global Methodist Church here in the MidSouth - check out this link…

MidSouth Global Methodist