LIVERMORE FALLS — The first bricks of the Eaton Memorial United Methodist Church were laid in the concrete foundation on July 18, 1906. 

Memorial windows were placed to honor the memory of several people. 

The church replaced a prior wooden church building that was moved down the road to Reynolds Avenue and now serves as the American Legion Post 10 Hall, according to an incomplete, unsigned history of the church and Methodism in the area. It had served as the first Methodist Episcopal Church in Livermore Falls from 1866-1906.

The new church building, dedicated in May 1907, cost $25,000.  

It was officially named the Eaton Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church on Jan. 5, 1911, in honor of Harriett Eaton, who contributed the most toward building the church, according to the history.

At that time, the debt for the building stood at $6,400. The mortgage was burned in 1917.

One of the stained-glass windows in the front of the church has Eaton’s name on it.

A pipe organ was donated in memory of Dr. George Rand in 1953. He had been the choir director for 47 years. The organ was rebuilt in 1981 by Dwight Leighton at a cost of $12,500, according to the history.

The last worship service at the church will be held on Nov. 27 before the church closes.

Methodism in the Livermore Falls area goes back more than 150 years. Homes served as the first meeting places, and then schoolhouses.

The earliest record of a quarterly meeting in Livermore Falls is dated 1815 and was held at the barn, about half a mile from the village, according to the history.

There had also been an East Livermore United Methodist Church in East Livermore. The last worship service held there was on Oct. 5, 1969. The church building was moved to Empire Grove United Methodist Campground in East Poland.

The United Methodist Church was created on April 23, 1968, when the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church united to form a new denomination, according to www.umc.org.

United Methodist churches in the Livermore Falls area include:

• Bartlett Memorial United Methodist Church, 35 East Dixfield Road, Jay;

• Wilton United Methodist Church, 600 Main St., Wilton;

• Wayne United Methodist Church, 22 Old Winthrop Road, Wayne;

• Winthrop United Methodist Church, 58 Main St., Winthrop;

• United Methodist Church of Readfield, 1564 Main St., Kents Hill;

• United Methodist Church, 92 Holmes Road, Winthrop;

• Trinity United Methodist Church, 612 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington; and

• New Sharon United Methodist Church, 18 Starks Road, New Sharon.

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