Loyalville United Methodist Church

Located in a quiet, country area in Lake Township, Loyalville has a long and proud history dating back to the late 1700's. In 1795, a road was hacked out of the wilderness from Wilkes-Barre to Bradford County to encourage settlers to begin to tame this new frontier. Mathew Scouten is reported to have been the first settler to have called Loyalville home. He cleared a small tract of land for an apple orchard near Booth's Corners.

In 1806, Daniel Lee settled at the head waters of Pike's Creek at a marsh and pond area named in his honor and still known today as Lee Pond. Farmers from the Plymouth area drove their cattle to Lee Pond for summer grazing and Daniel Lee was employed to care for the herd.

Jackson Township resident Otis Allen arrived in the Loyalville area in 1836 and by the spring of 1838 had managed to bring his family to their new home.

Over the next several years, Loyalville began to grow and prosper thanks to new arrivals. In the years prior to 1860, ten families lived at Allen's Corners. A small store was constructed at each location to provide for local residents and area travelers.

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, a pine pole and an American flag were erected on a small knoll near Booth's Corner to demonstrate the town's loyalty to the Union cause. The flag continued to fly throughout the four long years on conflict and the area from Allen's Corner to Booth's Corner became known as Loyalville.

Some of the earliest church records show that the community began organized church meetings at the homes of local residents. In 1845, eleven people met at the Allen home to form the first Methodist Class Meeting.

In 1885, under the leadership and ministry of Reverend G. F. Ace, a site was selected for the construction of the Loyalville Church. Approximately halfway between Booth's Corner and Allen's Corner, a grove of chestnut trees stood atop a low ridge. The land was donated by Henry and Sybil Randall for the construction of the Chestnut Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, now known as the Loyalville United Methodist Church. Articles of Incorporation were issued on April 22, 1885, and the building was constructed that summer for the cost of $1,420.

During the ministry of Reverend Mark Dauber, the church continued to grow. He decided that a social gathering place was necessary to serve the congregation and the community. A hall was constructed at the rear of the church in 1916. Throughout the years that followed, many improvements to the church and the hall have taken place thanks to the dedication and hard work of church members.