The First Methodist Church was organized in the year 1850 when James L. Crane organized a class of nineteen members at the home of Hugh Hightower, two miles southwest of Nokomis. Samuel Smith was appointed Class Leader, and, for a term, meetings were held at his residence. Later on they were held at the Oak Grove School house, and then at the school house in Nokomis. The Revs. J. C. Pallatte, A. J. Cushman, Preston Wood and Robert Honnold of the Hillsboro Circuit were amont the first to hold services here, and the Rev. Honnold became the first pastor of the Nokomis Circuit. The first church building was erected during the pastorate of the Rev. George Miller in 1868, and it was dedicated the following year. During the time the Rev. Driver served as pastor in 1888, the Nokomis Church became a station.

The present church building at the corner of Cedar and West Union Streets was erected in 1903, when the Rev. J. A. Stout was pastor, at a cost of something more than $7,000, and was dedicated on November 22^nd of that year by the Presiding Elder, Dr. Horace Reed. The contract for construction was let to Maxeiner Brothers and Vedder, and the cornerstone was laid by Dr. Reed on July 7^th. The three large art windows were donated by the Sunday School, the Epworth League, and the Ladies’ Aid Society.

Several improvements and remodeling programs have followed since the structure was built. On October 12, 1947, a Hammond electric organ was dedicated, and in the year 1950, the interior of the church was redecorated. The walls were covered with sheets of plywood, and a new lighting system was installed with modern fixtures, the main lights being recessed into the ceiling. New railings were installed around the chancel and choir sections; they are light in color to blend with the wall finish, and contrast with the darker trim around the doors and windows. In the summer of 1954 an addition of Sunday School rooms was built on the basement level, and the entire basement was then refinished, and some remodeling was done. A new heating system using gas and having thermostatic controls for both the sanctuary and basement, was installed. The furnace unit occupies the former coal compartment, which releases the remaining space in the old furnace room for use in the basement Sunday School rooms. The kitchen also was modernized by the construction of new cabinets and the rearrangement of other furnishing mainly of fluorescent type fixtures. Mr. Fred Bauman was the foreman of this project, and the cost of the entire program was over $6,300., besides much donated labor.

The membership of the church in 1956 is nearly 450 in number, and the Sunday School enrollment is more than 260. The Church and Sunday School not only serve the town and village of Nokomis and Coalton but a large rural population as well, mainly in Audubon, Witt and Nokomis townships.

Those holding some of the principal offices in the church were John Swarbrick, Lay Leader; Russell Weger, Church School Superintendent; Fred Bauman, Chairman of Trustees; S. B. Brown, Treasuer; Mrs. Rose Warnsing, President of the W. S. C. S.; Emil Schneider, President of the Methodist Men’s organization; and Rev. LeRoy E. Bula, Pastor.

Taken from "Nokomis Centennial Booklet 1856-1956".