Clough Church
Clough United Methodist Church has had a meaningful presence in the Anderson Township community since it was first started in 1864. The church began as a mission church that was formed by a group of German farmers and their families who had been attending the Second German United Brethren Church on Torrence Road. Called Cluff Mission, the families met in the old stone Baptist Church at the corner of what is now Clough and Berkshire. The Wolfangel and Reninger families and their offspring comprised a large part of the congregation.
Other prominent families at that time included the Weils, Schmidt and Weber families. All services were conducted in German and all records were kept in German. This did not change until 1910 when services and records were changed to English. In 1874, the members moved their services to Cluff School House at the corner of State and Cluff. Ten years later, the old school house was torn down and a new brick church was built. After this building was destroyed by fire in 1920, the church was rebuilt on the same site. In 1928, the church ended its affiliation with the Second United Brethren Church and became known officially as Clough United Brethren Church. When the United Brethren Church merged with the Evangelical Church in 1946, the name of the church changed to Clough Evangelical United Brethren Church or Clough E.U.B.
In 1962, Clough E.U.B. bought the property where the church building currently stands at the corner of Clough and Wolfangel Roads. Building plans for the new site called for three stages of construction – a building with a chapel, fellowship hall and Sunday school rooms; a parsonage; and a new sanctuary. The first two stages were combined and completed in 1968 and services were held in the fellowship hall. That same year the Evangelical Brethren Church and the Methodist Church merged and the church changed its name once more becoming Clough United Methodist Church.
A memorial bell tower was erected on the church property in 1973 and the new sanctuary which is currently being used was completed in 1991. Clough United Methodist Church continues to be a vital part of the community. Although its name and location have changed over the years, Clough remains faithful to its mission to connect to Christ and to the community.
Pastors of Clough United Methodist Church and the year they started to serve at our church
1864-1874 No records kept of those serving as pastor
1874 G. Schmidt
1875 G. Crone
1876 J. Sick
1878 A. Krause
1880 E. Lorenz
1882 G. Fritz
1884 J. Ernst
1888 H. Frank
1889 A. Schmidt
1892 C. Baumbach
1898 J. Luechauer
1910 G. Kopittke
1924 H. Schiering
1926 B. Petereit
1940 C. Fryman
1958 F. Huber
1960 J. Frazier
1970 M. Longenecker
1976 R. Metheny
1982 D. Irvin
1985 T. Gaiser
1993 F. Fenton
1995 J. Burge
1998 D. Dailey
2003 J. Kollmann