Preserving the History of the Former Lexington Conference Project

The Archives of Ohio United Methodism (AOUM), the official repository of the East and West Ohio Conferences of The United Methodist Church, has received funding to research East Ohio churches that were part of the former Lexington Conference of the Central Jurisdiction. The Central Jurisdiction was a jurisdiction of the former Methodist Church, lasting from 1939 until 1964, segregating African-Americans from the rest of the connection. The Lexington Conference was the annual conference of the Central Jurisdiction that served the Ohio area. AOUM is seeking updated histories from former Lexington Conference churches in East Ohio. AOUM staff is also conducting and recording oral histories from clergy and laity who were part of or active in former Lexington Conference churches in the now East Ohio Conference or the Lexington Conference itself. Persons who worked for the dissolution of the Central Jurisdiction are also of interest to the project. Oral histories will be conducted in person and AOUM staff will be available during East Ohio Annual Conference for oral histories.

Please contact Matthew Laferty, Project Researcher, or Carol Holliger, AOUM Archivist, for further information or to schedule an oral history at (740) 368-3285 or aoum@owu.edu