Western North Carolina Conference

The Western North Carolina Conference was formed in 1890 from portions of the Holston Conference and the North Carolina Conference. However, the history of the Western North Carolina Conference is complex involving several denominations, jurisdictions, and numerous annual conferences. Methodism in western North Carolina predates the founding of both the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, which occurred in 1784, and the establishment of Conferences, which occurred between 1795 and 1800. The Yadkin Circuit, formed in 1780 covered the valley of the Yadkin River in North Carolina. The first preacher appointed to the Yadkin Circuit was Andrew Yeargen. In 1783 the Guilford Circuit and the Salisbury Circuit were formed. In 1968, The Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren to become The United Methodist Church. While there were no congregations of the Evangelical United Brethren within the bounds of the Western North Carolina Conference, the union provided for the dissolution of the Central Jurisdiction. In June 1968 the Western North Carolina Conference of The Methodist Church merged with the Central and Western Districts of the North Carolina-Virginia Conference of the Central Jurisdiction of The Methodist Church to form the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 2011, members of the Western North Carolina Conference voted to enlarge the size of the districts by reducing their number from 15 to eight. -Retrieved from “Conference History: History of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.” Western North Carolina Conference. Accessed February 12, 2018. https://www.wnccumc.org/conference-history.