Trinity Methodist (formerly Methodist Episcopal) Church at 216 SE 3rd St., originally 522-524 Upper 3rd St. The congregation now known as Trinity United Methodist Church began in Evansville in 1825 as a Methodist class, and was the first Methodist organization of any type in Evansville. Since then it has been responsible for having founded almost every Methodist church in the Evansville area. The founding minister was Robert Parrett, born in England in 1791 and pictured to the right. A licensed preacher of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in England, Parrett and his wife, Martha, came to America in 1816. Methodist class members were required to commit themselves to a pure lifestyle, which was described in a document called The Discipline. The class selected a leader to visit members once a week and provide guidance as needed. There were no church buildings in Evansville at that time, the town being quite small. The group met first in Warner Tavern for two years and then moved its meetings to the Vanderburgh County Courthouse at the corner of Main and Third Streets. Later, the class members met in a schoolhouse at Third and Main. In 1839 the group completed construction on a brick building called the Locust Street Methodist Episcopal Church. It stood next to the alley between Second and Third Streets, on the south side of Locust Street. Around that time the Methodist Society, as it was then called, also took on the responsibility of raising funds to support a full-time minister. The first minister was John S. Bayless. From these beginnings, the church went on to make an incredible social impact in the life of Evansville, decade after decade. In 1860 trustees acquired a new lot at the corner of Third and Chestnut at a cost of $3,000 and put $85,000 toward a new sanctuary and furnishings. In 1866, despite the shadows of a great Civil War, the current sanctuary was completed and dedicated, and the church's name was officially changed to Trinity. As the congregation grew and as newer facilities were needed, new buildings were erected. The balcony was added in 1882, and in 1926 a church house was built near the sanctuary.