Summerdale Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Summerdale, Alabama, USA)
In spring 1934 several Eicher families from Ithaca, Michigan explored possible settlement in southern Alabama because they sought a warmer climate. Daniel Eicher and his family moved in fall 1934, with another family following in 1935. More families from Michigan, Kansas, and Ohio came in 1936.
In the early years families engaged in truck farming, raising potatoes, cucumbers, and sweet corn. Later farmers switched to soybeans and dairy farming.
Initially, Sunday school was held in homes. In 1939 the group began to meet in the Sonora Community Hall, located south and west of Summerdale. A small lot near Summerdale was donated to the church, but a building was never erected.
The group was served by visiting ministers who came for revivals or short terms of service until the ordination of Norman Eicher as a minister in 1944. However, by 1946 families began to move from the area. The price of land had increased and was not easily available to young men returning from Civilian Public Service during World War II. The few remaining families moved to Walnut Hill, Florida by 1948.
Bibliography
Histories of the congregations. 3rd. ed. Moundridge, Kansas: Gospel Publishers, 1999: 175-177.
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By P. G. Hiebert. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 656. All rights reserved.
Summerdale Church of God in Christ Mennonite Church, now extinct, located near Summerdale, Baldwin County, Alabama, was organized in 1934. In 1944 Norman Eicher was ordained as minister and Otto Harms as deacon. The services were conducted in the community hall. The group, composed of settlers from other states, later dissolved, and most of the members formed the Walnut Hill (Florida) congregation; the most common post-office address is Atmore, Alabama.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | October 2020 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Summerdale Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Summerdale, Alabama, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. October 2020. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Summerdale_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Summerdale,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=169594.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (October 2020). Summerdale Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Summerdale, Alabama, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Summerdale_Church_of_God_in_Christ,_Mennonite_(Summerdale,_Alabama,_USA)&oldid=169594.
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