How it all started...
In the early 1800s, travel was often by ox-carts and horse teams. The roads of the day were just trails. Travel between Warsaw, Carthage, Nauvoo etc., could take two days or more. One of the trails passed the Golden family residence located between Hamilton and Nauvoo. Here people could see a point of timber extending east onto the prairie that became known as Golden’s Point, which became a rest stop and lodging spot for travelers.
In 1854, a local congregation of 24 members organized and met in the Golden’s Point schoolhouse, located on what is now Conable Road, which this schoolhouse still exists as a residence today. By 1866 the congregation grew to 64 members, and It was decided to construct a house of worship. The first service was held in 1867 in the new building located north of Golden’s Point present building near the Jack Metternich farm.
In 1910, it was decided that a new building was needed since Larry Creek was encroaching on the 1867 building. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Baxter offered a plot of land where Golden’s Point building now stands. This building was dedicated on September 10, 1911. In 1958, a basement addition was added to the east side of the building to provide a larger kitchen and fellowship hall that doubled as a Sunday School space. This served the congregation well until a larger expansion was needed. The old basement addition was removed and a two story addition was constructed in 1981, resulting in the building as it stands today.
