The First United Methodist Church of Washington

It can trace its heritage to before the town was established in 1780. Early settlers to the area worshipped in each other's home and after the town and county were established, they worshipped with other congregations in a small log courthouse. In 1785, a small wood frame church was built about 5 miles away and was called Grant's Meeting House. From that several early Methodist Episcopal Congregations sprung up. There are no records of when the church in Washington was officially established but the first land deed for one in the city was in 1819. A large wooden church, the first in the city was built in 1821 and used by all congregations but was owned by the Methodists. This building lasted until it was replaced with a brick structure in 1882 near the original church which was sold and became the opera house until it was torn down in the early 1920s. As the congregation continued prospering the 1882 building was replaced with the current structure down the street in 1910. The 1882 structure was sold to the Mason's and the building is still extant today.
A couple of interesting legends,
In 1864, the pastor, W M Fulton was supposedly found to be an imposter, but he fled to Milledgeville, walked into the Union camp and joined the Union Army.
In 1865, the legend is that confederate soldiers left a large chest in the church's parsonage for a few days. The chest may or may not have contained confederate gold, but the soldiers reportedly told the pastor's wife that they figured it would be safe in the home of a preacher.
Andy Sarge