The Knowlson Methodist Church was
the first church built within the boundaries of present-day Brookline,
located at the Brookline Junction, where West Liberty Avenue meets
Brookline Boulevard. When the church was built in 1868, it was considered
the intersection of West Liberty Avenue and Hunter Avenue in West Liberty
Borough.
The church was built on the site of
an old stump church located on the property of Richard Knowlson. People
from all over West Liberty Borough would gather at this location to listen
to a preacher tell gospel stories. Soon the Brookline Methodists purchased
the land and built the Knowlson Methodist Church. The church was the home
of the Methodists until 1906, when they moved into their new church on
Brookline Boulevard at Wedgemere Avenue.
The former Knowlson Methodist Church
above the Brookline Junction, shown here in 1915.
In 1906, the church was leased to
the new St. Mark's Lutheran Mission. When the Lutheran's built their
new chapel on Brookline Boulevard in 1907, they vacated the old church.
At this time, the West Liberty United Presbyterian Mission was looking
for a suitable location for services.
The West Liberty United Presbyterian
Church (former Knowlson Church) stands atop the rise
at the bottom of Brookline Boulevard (now designated Bodkin Street)
in 1909.
The Presbyterian Ministry purchased
the church in 1908. Renamed the West Liberty United Presbyterian Church,
it served that mission until 1913, when the Presbyterians new chapel was
built at the corner of Queensboro and Chelton Avenues along Brookline
Boulevard. The congregation then changed their name to the Brookline
Boulevard United Presbyterian Church.
After 1913, it is not known what
congregation occupied the old church. The structure stood until being
razed in the early-1930s.
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