Marker at Midway Church in
Mahoning County
1957
In Memory of
Jacob Oberholtzer
The First Mennonite Minister
Who Came to Ohio in 1806
The Donor of This Site
For Oberholtzers'
Meeting House
A Log Church 30 x 36 Feet
Built 1825
From Younstown Vindicator.
of this congregation with three meetinghouses in this way:
From 1828 to 1835 a system of rotation of worship services evolved. First between Oberholtzer's and Nold's in 1828, then alternately with Metzler's also in 1835. The result was that one Sunday a month was set aside for worship in each meetinghouse. This left the fourth Sunday with no services. This was known as free (visiting) Sunday. The building of Metzler's Church set the pattern for the alternation of services for the Columbiana-Mahoning Congregation for the next 57 years.
Other Mennonite churches were planted in the northeastern part
of the young state of Ohio. Settlers from Lancaster County, Pennsyl
vania, and Washington County, Maryland, formed the Rowland
Mennonite Church within the present city of Canton in Stark
County. Here by 1823 the families of Rowlands, Eberlys, Shepards,
Sherricks, Lehmans, and Rohrers were organized as a congregation
by Bishop Nold of Columbiana County. Smith and Newcomer and
later Michael Rohrer served as ministers. A log church built in 1823
lasted till replaced by a brick structure in 1874. In 1905 M. S. Steiner
wrote concerning this congregation: "Of recent years the Mennonite
blood of this congregation has been absorbed by the `down town'
churches and all that remains is a mission station revived lately."''
Penetrating south and west the pioneer Mennonites moved into
Holmes County where before 1830 (exact date is not known) Peter
Lonenecker, a bishop from Masontown, Pennsylvania, organized a
congregation. This congregation met in two meetinghouses, Kolb's
