The first congregation of the Catonsville Methodist Church began in 1855, meeting for a time in private homes. Later, a room in a log house on the site of the John S. Wilson Lumber Company (currently Bill’s Music), Frederick Road, was used for a church, followed by space in a blacksmith shop on the site of what was Heidelbach Grocery and Plymouth Wallpaper (future home of Faidley’s Fishmonger’s Daughter seafood restaurant).
In 1857, the congregation built a small stone church on Bloomsbury Avenue called “Providence Chapel.” The stone church was situated on the property of the German Protestant Orphan Asylum, a facility for children of German descent orphaned by the Civil War. The property is now known as The Children’s Home. This site was used until a wood-frame church with a steeple was built in 1887 on the corner of Frederick Road and Melvin Avenue. Until a parsonage was built on Melvin Avenue in 1891, there was a small row of sheds that worshippers could hitch their horses to during services.
In 1925, the wood-frame church and parsonage were razed and a new “Sunday School House and Community Center” were erected on the site, with a vision of attaching a “church sanctuary” on the Frederick Road side. Plans to build a church building were abandoned during the Great Depression, and the current sanctuary on the 2nd floor was eventually redesigned and rebuilt in the 1950’s. Property was also acquired across Melvin Avenue opposite the post office which is now used for additional parking.
The Asbury Hall education building was built in 1961, expanding the educational, youth, and meeting spaces of the church. Other changes through the years included the installation of stained glass windows, and the building of an elevator tower and prayer garden.
The congregation’s name changed to the Catonsville United Methodist Church in the 1960’s with the merger of the Methodist Church and the United Brethren Church.
Catonsville United Methodist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary in the
6 Melvin Avenue building in October 2024:

The Catonsville Methodist “Providence Chapel”, built in 1857 on the property of the German Protestant Orphan Asylum on Bloomsbury Avenue, now known as The Children’s Home.

Exterior of the wood frame Catonsville Methodist Church, built in 1887 on the corner of Frederick Road and Melvin Avenue.

Interior of the wood frame Catonsville Methodist Church, built in 1887. The church building was razed in 1924.

Original parsonage on property at Frederick Road and Melvin Avenue.

The laying of the cornerstone in June 1924.

The “Sunday School House and Community Center” built in 1925.

The addition of the elevator tower with the Asbury Hall education building in the back left.

The sanctuary at Christmas time.

The altar at Christmas time.

Catonsville United Methodist Church from the Frederick Avenue and Melvin Avenue corner.

The newly refinished 100-year-old church doors on Melvin Avenue.