The history and future of Iron Creek Church

Iron Creek Church, at the corner of Sharon Hollow and English Roads in Manchester Township. Photo courtesy of MAHS.

by Sybil Kolon for Manchester Area Historical Society

The Iron Creek Community Church, founded as a Free Will Baptist Church in 1855, was dissolved earlier this year. Unbeknownst to many, the congregation had been shrinking for years. There are some sad aspects of this story, but it also presents an opportunity to preserve a modest, locally significant, historic church.

Earlier this year, the church, parsonage, and associated eight acres were deeded to another church with the expectation that it would be sold to benefit that church. Much work was required before the property could be listed, which it was, earlier this month. There has been much interest in the property, but both buildings, and the property in general, present several problems that will require significant investment to resolve.

The current owner hopes that another church can take over. If not, the next option would be to find a buyer to repurpose the church. Issues identified by the Washtenaw County Health Department and Manchester Township related to zoning will need to be resolved before any significant changes to the current use can be made. Members of the Manchester Area Historical Society (MAHS) were able to tour the property recently and believe both buildings can be restored and repurposed, if a new church is not able to take over.

In the meantime, MAHS is seeking documents and pictures relating to the church. It appears that most of the historical records associated with the church have been lost. However, we have been in touch with former members of the church who have many relevant documents and pictures. Much history about the church is known and an effort to compile it will be a worthy effort.

In particular, there is a large boulder outside of the church with a plaque that carries significant meaning to our community. The plaque memorializes two soldiers who were killed in World War II. Sgt. Arthur C. Frey was shot down over France on May 11, 1944. Sgt. Edward A. Brazee was killed in India on June 14, just one month later. Both were members of the church. Edward Brazee was the son of the pastor, Rev. Alvin Brazee. Arthur Frey’s sister, Marjorie, later married Donald Brazee, Rev. Brazee’s youngest son. Marjorie is now 101 years old and has been interviewed by MAHS members, including her much younger cousin, Laura Sutton. We hope to share more history in the future. Check out the Deconstructing the Past webpage on the MAHS website, which includes some history on Marjorie’s great-grandfather (and Laura’s great-great grandfather), Richard Sutton, who was likely a guest pastor at the Iron Creek Church: https://mahsmi.org/dtp/

The owner of the church property has agreed that if the boulder with the plaque has to be moved when the property is sold, MAHS can arrange to have it moved to a location where this history can continue to be shared. If you have any pictures, documents, or stories about the Iron Creek Church to share, please contact Sybil Kolon at sybil.kolon@gmail.com.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.