Sunday brought special honor to Downtown Farmington, thanks to the First United Methodist Church. In the community for more than 180 years, the church received a state historic marker now proudly displayed on Grand River.
The church has several claims to fame, beginning with its origins at a time before Michigan became a state and ties to the influence of circuit-riding pastors who seeded churches around the country. After the original wooden structure burned, a new brick building was designed by father and daughter architects Wells and Emily Butterfield. Emily was the first woman architect licensed in Michigan. And Michigan’s first and only three-term governor, Fred M. Warner, and his wife, Martha, donated four stained glass panels created by Detroit artist Francois Grenier, which you can still see when you stand on the sidewalk in front of the church.
You’ll learn more about the church’s history from Dick Carvel, in this YouTube video:
