HISTORY OF PASCO COUNTY

Townsend House Church

Among the outstanding pioneers who came into this country was John Townsend, more familiarly known as Captain Jack Townsend. He was a brave, good man and settled in a log house about two-hundred yards from where we now stand. This was in the year 1846 or 1848. The old settlers would gather at the home of Captain Townsend on Sunday afternoons and have a form of worship like the old time prayer meetings. Little did these men and women realize the good that was to come from these small prayer meetings, other than the blessings they received themselves, but that was the beginning of the Townsend House church.

During the Indian war of 1856, Captain Townsend's house was used as a fort and the women and children would gather there for protection while the men were off at war. After the war Captain Townsend moved to what is known as the Jim Burnside place and gave his old house to the community for a church. It was then put on the circuit and a preacher appointed. Services were held in the old log house until it was badly in need of repair, and along in the early seventies the old settlers decided to build a new church. They gathered together, cut logs, rived boards, and built a good substantial building under the leadership of W. R. Nicks, N. D. Eiland, H. W. Hancock. Joshua Mizelle, and Osias Mizelle. Among the first preachers were Rev. Isaac Munden, 1866-1870, Rev. Giles, 1871, Rev. Reynolds, 1872, Rev. Berry Brown, 1873, Rev. J. D. Rogers, 1874-1875, Rev. Collier, 1876.

The old log church was also used as a school building, and some of you men and women here today remember that you had your first lessons in readin', writing', and 'rithmetic in the old church building. Rev. Isaac Munden was the pastor at this time. Services were held regularly for several years, in this building, until the congregation grew so large that it was decided to build another church. Realizing that the church they were now using was built on government land, Joshua Mizell donated an acre of land about one hundred yards west of the old log church, and in 1879 the old settlers came together again and constructed the church which stands here now, in memory of the faithful men and women who had the courage to do things, regardless of the difficulties that confronted them. Brother W. H. Parker, known better, perhaps, as Brother Billie Parker, was the first pastor of this church.

Brother Parker was followed by Rev. S. G. Meadows and Rev. T. H. Sistrunk. Many of us who were small boys and girls at that time remember when the pioneer preachers came into the community to preach and we will never forget how they came on horse back, wearing a high derby hat and a frock-tail coat. We boys would stand around in amazement and those were the days when children, so far as they knew, had the profoundest respect for these circuit riders.

Brother Sistrunk was followed by Brother H. P. Blocker and I am sure that a great many of us remember the great county-wide protracted meeting held during his pastorate. The evangelist was Rev. E. K. Whidden, who lived in Tampa. The register we now have does not give a detail report of the accessions to the church during this great meeting, but all of us who were here at that time remember that the community was never the same after the meeting was over.

During those years, Quarterly Conferences, lasting through Saturday and Sunday, was a common event, and in spite of the fact that the county was sparsely settled, large crowds would gather for these meetings. An old fashioned picnic dinner was served on Saturday and Quarterly Conference usually convened in the afternoon. An event which happened at one of those meetings and will never be forgotten by many of us here today was on a Sunday, about 1:00 o'clock, in 1904. The preacher was just finishing up his sermon when a peculiar noise was heard in the distance, and needless to say that not much more of the sermon was heard by the children of the congregation. Horses and mules began to take notice and in a few moments, a Mr. Lutz, of the firm Lutz and Booth, who owned a sawmill at Pasco Station, drove in sight in the first automobile many of us had ever seen. Of course, it was impossible for Mr. Lutz to get near the church, for fear the horses and mules would break loose from the trees to which they were tied, but preaching was soon over, and the horseless carriage was the chief object of interest for the rest of the day.

Rev. John Perry, 1844.
Rev. Franklin Stewart, 1848.
Rev. John C. Lee, 1852.
Rev. W. E. Pratt, 1856.
Rev. W. A. Cason, 1860.
Rev. Isaac Munden, 1870.
Rev. Berry Brown, 1873.
Rev. J. D. Rogers, 1875.
Rev. Glenn, 1876.
Rev. J. S. Collier, 1877.
Rev. W. H. Parker, 1878-80-81.
Rev. W. Williams, 1882.
Rev. Geo. W. Mitchell, 1883.
Rev. J. F. Shands, 1884.
Rev. B. C. Sharp, 1885.
Rev. Fred L. Pixton, 1886.
Rev. E. C. Castleberry, 1887.
Rev. G. W. Forest, 1888.
Rev. W. H. Parker, 1889-90-91.
Rev. Henson, 1892.
Rev. Wheedon, 1893.
Rev. S. G. Meadows, 1894-95.
Rev. T. H. Sistrunk, 1896-97-98.
Rev. Jake Weatherford, 1899.
Rev. D. T. McMullen, 1900.
Rev. M. T. Bell, 1901.
Rev. W. H. Parker, 1902.
Rev. H. P. Blocker, 1903-04-05-06.
Rev. J. T. Duncan, 1907.
Rev. A. P. Juntry, 1908.
Rev. W. Z. Danzsler, 1909.

The preachers that followed Brother Blocker were as follows: Rev. J. M. Diffenwierth, Rev. M. T. Bell, Rev. A. M. Mann, Rev. A. L. Woodward, Rev. S. I. Young, Rev. Samuel Scott, Rev. A. C. Revierre, Rev. M. E. Meyer, Rev. J. E. Skipper, and the last pastor was Rev. Joseph Barton.