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Days
of My Years
by Walter Stuckey
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The Lockport Mennonite Church is a part of the original Amish-Mennonite settlement in Fulton County, Ohio. The first immigrants came directly from Alsasse-Lorraine in 1834.
From 1834 to 1869, their church meetings were conducted in their homes. The first meeting house was built in 1869-1870 near the village of Archbold Ohio. The Central Mennonite Church is still located on the same site.
As the community grew, the long distance from the church became difficult for some families to attend regularly with horse-drawn vehicles, the only means of travel in those days.
Some of the families lived in the vicinity of Lockport, a nearly extinct village in Brady Township, Williams County, Ohio. In this village, there was a cemetery where some Mennonite families had already buried their dead. Lockport was suggested as a good place to build a church meeting house.
This suggestion took years to develop. The brotherhood at large felt it would contribute toward separation. They had been one congregation for 70 years and loved it.
However, in 1908 it was finally brought to a vote. To the dismay of some, it was voted to build two new meeting houses, one at Lockport, approximately 6 miles west of the Central Church and one about 6 miles southeast of Central in West Clinton Township in Fulton County near the village of Pettisville, Ohio. Still known today as Lockport and West Clinton churches.
For the sake of continued unity, the next 14 years services were alternated as follows, one Sunday Lockport would join Central while West Clinton had their services. The following Sunday West Clinton would join Central. In 1922, Lockport began having their Sunday morning worship services each Sunday.
However, all communions and business meetings were held at the Central Church. The ministerial group served all three on a scheduled basis. This kept the community together and seemed to satisfy everyone.
Following the death in 1942 of long-time bishop Elias F. Frey and most of his generation, steps were soon taken by the younger bishop Edward B Frey to form three separate congregations.
Lockport was organized into a separate congregation in 1944 with 345 members. Simon Stuckey and Walter Stuckey, Ministers, D Wyse Graber, Deacon, and EB Frey, Bishop.
Pastors who have served Lockport in addition to those mentioned above were Maynard Wyse, Earl Stuckey, Arthur Zehr, Keith Leinbach, James Groeneweg and Charles Gautsche. Present pastors (1997) are Allen Rutter, Mark Miller and Wendy Miller.
The first Lockport Church building was built in 1908, remodeled and enlarged in 1930. A new fellowship hall built in 1956 and a complete new building in 1961 with more classrooms added since.
As the Lockport congregation grew two new places of worship were opened with local families attending giving assistance in their development. The Pine Grove congregation near Stryker in 1948 with D Wyse Graber as pastor. The Salem congregation near Waldron, MI in 1951 with Earl Stuckey as pastor.
Also cooperated with Central and West Clinton in 1945 to establish the West Bancroft congregation in Toledo Ohio and giving Freeman Aschliman as their first pastor.
All these congregations are affiliated with the Ohio Conference of the Mennonite Church. Over the years conference affiliation varied from the Ohio and Eastern Amish-Mennonite conference to the present above mentioned. Conference memberships were often based on cultural backgrounds and practices rather than on geographical areas.
In 1941, the combined membership of the three churches was 1352.
- NOTE: Walter Stuckey has lived all of his life of 88 years attending and serving the Lockport congregation. Born Dec 7, 1909, ordained a minister in 1938, a bishop in 1951. Retiring in 1982. Thank you Lord Jesus and all glory to God forever and ever.
HOMEPAGE URL: http://www.bright.net/~lockport/index.htm
Creation Date: 4/97 Date of Last Revision: 12/04/03