In pioneer days Plessis seemed to be the center for much of the religious activities of the town of Alexandria. Plessis was one of the early settlements and the pioneers were of high character and steady [sic] to welcome circuit riders who traversed the wilderness country from Carthage to Ogdensburg. Probably these ministers held services in Plessis as early as 1818, for they were traveling their circuits at that early date. But records indicate that in 1825 there were people residing in and around Plessis who had become members of the Methodist class meetings.
In those early days the meetings were held in private homes and school houses and eight years after the forming of the early class meetings there was built the old stone church known as the Union church, because members of the Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Protestant, and the Presbyterian societies joined in erecting the building.
At the sessions of (?) the name of Rev. Josiah Zimmerman was read off by the bishop for the Alexandria circuit which would have Plessis for its central point. The next year Rev. Thomas B. Brown had the circuit and he was followed y Rev. C. H. Austin in 1851. Little by little these early ministers developed the surrounding sections and established preaching places in Alexandria Center, Alexandria Bay, Bailey Settlement, Browns Corners, where there was built a chapel, Barnes Settlement, Baucus Settlement, Hart District, Chapels Corners and Redwood.
In 1857 when Rev. Jeheil Austin was minister, the work in Plessis had progressed so rapidly that the congregation there thought it was time it built its own church and decided first of all to elect three trustees to look after their property. On Nov. 28, 1857, the meeting was held for the election and resulted in William Pecks being named for three years, Morgan Augsbury for two years and George Augsbury for one year. Next it was voted to elect a building committee. George Augsbury, Daniel Roof, and Amos Shumway were chosen.
A final campaign resulted in raising $1,922 and the people were eager to get the building started. Rev. P. Barker was the minister at this time. The church was dedicated in 1860 after Rev. Allen C. Castle had become the minister. And now the society had a home of its own, the parsonage having been erected previously. The remarkable feature of this subscription campaign was the fact that when the church was built every cent of the $1,922 was paid in full.
And now from this "mother" church there were formed other societies. The Methodist church society at Alexandria Bay became a separate church in April, 1876. It had its church building and was in position for this move. It was July 8, 1889, that the Redwood Class was incorporated, having been previously organized as a church. Over at Chapels Corners a church was built, through the gifts, largely, of the Flower family. So here were three off-shoots of the "mother" church at Plessis.
But, as the years rolled along, the Plessis church was not resting on former victories. In 1873 the people repaired and repainted the church and the parsonage at a cost of $450. Rev. William M. Holbrook was the pastor at the time. The next fall the men erected some good sheds, costing $250, besides their labor. In 1890 $2,381.70 was expended in carpets, new stained glass windows, frescoing, pews and cushions, a choirloft and again painting the church. (From the scrapbook of the late Lulu Williams.)
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