A Brief History of the County Line Church, Part 3

Continued from Dec. 17, 2020

Editor’s note: Part 3 concludes the history of the County Line Church

The church formally began admitting members into the congregation in May of 1899. Admission was achieved by each prospective member making a public “Confession of Faith.” A History of Congregationalism in Ritzville, which contained several references to the County Line Church, mentioned that by 1905, the Church had 73 members. By 1920, the membership roll reached 121, climbing further to total 153 in 1932.

With the forming of the congregation in 1897 and completion of the church building in 1903, the congregation evidently met for approximately six years in the previously mentioned alternate locations. However, with the completion of their own church building, the congregation moved to their permanent building adjacent to the Amen farm.

The church actively held services until the spring of 1933, when Pastor Jacob Morach, pastor at the Philadelphia Congregational Church in Ritzville from its 1912 inception until 1926, became the County Line Church’s final pastor. He was at County Line from 1926 until 1933.

On March 26, 1933, Pastor Zocher of the Lind Congregational Church resigned and was replaced by Pastor Morach from the County Line Church. Hence, the likely date that the County Line Church closed its doors was sometime in the spring of 1933, with Morach moving down to Lind shortly after accepting the pastorship at that church.

The History of Congregationalism in Ritzville also reported that the County Line Church closed its doors in 1933, and that as of January 1937, Zion Congregational Church in Ritzville was seeing its membership increase as “new members were coming in from the Immanuel Church on the county line after its closure.”

Papers from the Congregational Church Building Society indicate that by May of 1936 all mortgage indebtedness of the County Line Church had been paid off. In December 1936, George Amen purchased the acre and church building. The parsonage had been purchased earlier by Henry Hopp, who moved the parsonage building to Odessa where he remodeled it and lived in it for many years.

Following the purchase of the church building by the Amen family, it was maintained at its original location and used for a variety of purposes over the ensuing years. The Amens carefully removed the steeple, storing most of the materials at their adjacent farm. The church corner was enclosed with siding. The floor was removed, concrete poured, and a large door installed at the rear of the church. Thereafter farm machinery was stored in the building.

The Amen family ownership continued until 2005, when Dennis Thompson and his wife, Nona Keison-Thompson, purchased the remaining Amen farmstead, including the church. An ongoing vision and project for the Thompsons has been a restoration of the church.

The interior of the existing building finds the ornate tin ceiling still present, as are fixtures for the original “Hollow Wire Gasoline Lighting” system. Wainscoting from the original furnishing is still present, as well as original windows and much of the original glass.

Attached for information purpose is a copy of a portion the 1912 Adams County Atlas plat map which shows the location for the George Amen farm and the County Line Church’s location, i.e., Section 1, Township 20N, Range 34E. Looking at the upper right-hand corner of the map, you can see where the George Amen farm and the County Line Church are located, about 1/4 mile east of the Paha Packard Road along East Davis Road.

Of historical interest are also conversations that Dennis Thompson, current owner, held with Otto Amen, son of George Amen, while Otto was still living. Otto was born in July 1912 and lived on the Amen farm until 1932 when he left the farm for WSU and pharmacy school. In these conversations, Otto recited to Dennis that while growing up from the age of 10 on, on Sunday’s and/or other occasions when services were held in the Church, his father would have him run next door to the Church and “fire up” the “Hollow Wire Lighting System” that the church had for lighting.

Also attached is a hand drawn map of the County Line Church grounds which Otto provided to Dennis. The map shows the layout of the Church, including the position of the Parsonage on the east side of the Church. Immediately behind the Church and Parsonage was the Horse Barn for the Pastor’s horses. Visible above the south end of the inside of the church where the alter previously was located are the words in German, “DER HERR IST IN SEINEM TEMPLE. ES SEI STILLE VOR HIMM ALLE WELT.” Translated: “The Lord is in his Temple. Before Him all the world is silent.”

Note: The above history reflects a compilation of facts, reflections, and historical work researched and/or contributed by Dennis and Nona (Keison) Thompson, Marge Womack, Otto Amen and Barry Heimbigner.