Trinity United Methodist Church History

Trinity United Methodist Church is the second oldest Methodist Church in Mecklenburg County. It was organized in 1815 in the home of Mrs. Martin, a widow who lived near the site of the present structure. Services were held in Widow Martin's home until the neighbors, under the leadership of Reverend William Barnett, erected a small log meeting house, which bore the name of Buckhill Church. As the Trinity community grew, so did Buckhill Church. This called for more and larger buildings down through the years.

The second building was constructed in 1833 on the present site and the church name changed to Trinity. A Third building was constructed in 1890 and the timbers of this church were used in the present sanctuary which was constructed in 1928. Since that time the education and fellowship buildings were added and in 2001, a Family Life Center was completed and the auditorium in the Family Life Center was given the name "James H. Lee Auditorium", in memory of a beloved Trinity member who provided substantial financial support to the building program.

With the addition of our newest facility, Trinity has remained a center of life in the Long Creek Community. The members of Trinity and the surrounding community have been incredibly blessed by this Family Life Center and were rewarded for their faithfulness in God by being able to completely pay off the debt incurred to build this building in early 2006. At a special ceremony on homecoming Sunday, 2006, Mr. Bill Todd lit the match that burned the loan note for the building. A wooden cross now hangs above the stage in the James H. Lee Auditorium given in Honor of Mr. Paul Merritt, Sr. for the many tireless hours he spent in fundraising, planning, and advocacy for the Family Life Center.

Family names with long connections to the church are Martin, Todd, Alexander, Elliott, McClure, Carr (Kerr), Plummer and Hucks. Descendants of a number of these families are still active in the church.