Friday, June 30, 2017

The Church in the Wildwood


 

 
“There's a church in the valley by the wildwood, No lovelier spot in the dale;

No place is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the vale.”

 
 
I grew up in a one room, white church situation on the top of the hill, and this song was a favorite of the small congregation that attended Rolls Hill. Except we always sang it as “the little white church on the hill.”

 If you're not familiar with the song click here for country music star Dolly Parton's rendition of the hymn. 
 
Recently I learned the story behind this song while searching for the words to write a hymn-based musical devotional on the song. I thought the research interesting enough to share.

 
“The Church in the Wildwood”, often referred to as “The Little Brown Church in the Vale”, was written in 1857 by Dr. William S. Pitts about a church that didn’t even exist at the time he penned the song. While on a stagecoach ride to visit his fiancĂ©e in Fredericksburg, Iowa, the coach made a stop in Bradford, Iowa. Dr. Pitts disembarked and took a walk around the area where he spotted a wooded valley near the Cedar River. Pitts imagined the spot to be a perfect place for a church. Unable to get the vision of the church from his mind, when he returned home he wrote the song “The Church in the Wildwood.”

 
In 1855, the First Congregational Ecclesiastical Society of Bradford founded a church, meeting in storefronts and homes as new churches do while waiting for a building. Upon Pitt’s return to the area in 1862, he discovered a church had being erected where he had imagined it five years earlier. The church was even painted brown. The congregation hadn’t heard of Pitt’s song, they just used the cheapest color of paint, which happened to be brown.

 

photo from Wikipedia
At the dedication of the church in 1864, Pitts had his singing class perform the song. This was the first time anyone, besides Pitts, had sung “The Church in the Wildwood.”

The song was later sold to a music publisher for $25. Pitts used the money to pay for his enrollment in Rush Medical College. The song was forgotten for years until the 1920’s when the Weatherwax Quartet used it as their trademark song. During their travels, they often talked about the little church, which was having a revival of its own after the Society for the Preservation of The Little Brown Church was founded. The church had closed in 1888 due to the town’s decline, but by 1914, services were again held in the building.

By the mid-1920s, as the song grew in popularity and the US Highway system made travel easier, many visitors came to the newly reopened little church. By 2005, 72,000 weddings had been performed in the church and 60,000 visitors annually had visited "the little brown church in the vale."

I’ve sung this song ever since I was a child, with the modifications mentioned above. Every time I do, it brings back fond memories of growing up with God-fearing, loving Christians who guided me toward an awesome God and eternal life. Today the song isn’t sung much as schools feel it is too religious and churches think it doesn’t give God glory. But for me it has memories of times spent praising the Lord, learning his word, seeing friends come to Christ, and fellowshipping with his children, young and old. After all, isn’t that what the church is all about?

Do you have a special hymn that you love with an interesting history?

 

Don’t forget to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for the CSPA Book of the Year Award winner Dawn of Liberty  by Amber Schamel! Winner will be announced in the Weekly Windup on July 2nd. Paperback giveaways are for U.S. residents only.

 

 

Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

 

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. Her newest book, a romantic comedy with a touch of drama, entitled A Groom For Mama, is due out September 2017, from Soul Mate Publishing. You can follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, Facebook or through her blog Romance for the Ages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 comments:

  1. Catherine, as soon as I saw the title of this blog it brought back childhood memories. I remember learning to play The Church in the Wildwood on my accordian. I can still see the music in my mind, with the music packed away. : ) I attended small country churches where our grandparents were pastoring. They are so special. More recently a family member's funeral was at a small country church that made it so touching and special. All the memories came rolling in. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. We just recently reintroduced this hymn at our church. I had such a hard time no singing my beloved version with the little white church on the hill. I know what you mean by the memories rushing back. It was made more special because my youngest sister was singing beside me. She sang our version, causing heads to turn. Lol. Thanks for sharing your memories.

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  2. One of our beloved church men loves this song and we often sing it. For many years, he was there to sing along but a stroke has left him unable to physically worship with us so when we now sing it we remember his service and we pray for his well being!

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    1. What a wonderful way to honor a fellow saint. Thanks for sharing that.

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  3. I love Amazing Grace. I just read the book by Jody Hedlund Newton and Polly and just loved it! The movie Amazing Grace is great, too about what came after at the end of Newton's life. My all-time favorite hymn is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. It just speaks to me. Thanks for the chance to win the book by Amber . I love history!

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    1. Amazing Grace is only of favorites, too. I can still hear the congregation at my grandparents' country church singing the harmonies in their kentucky drawl. Wonderful memories there, too. Thanks for reminding me of that.

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  4. My mother had Alzheimer's. She couldn't put two words together and have them make sense. When I would take her to church, she would sing her heart out. She forgot how to read but she knew all those hymns by heart. It was good to hear her voice again.
    Janet E.
    von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. Alzheimers is such a devastating disease. I'm glad you have a positive remembrance like this. My dad had Alzheimers too. We got a single moment of clarity before he died where he recognized that. Hold on to the good memories.

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    1. Catherine, My heart goes out to you and your family. Thank you for responding to my answer.
      Janet E.

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