Rev. William Hardesty platted the original town of Troy in 1834. William Hardesty donated land in 1842 and contributed to the construction of The Methodist Episcopal Church, now known as The Malvern United Methodist Church. Our church was the first place of worship in the town of Troy. (Insert picture of old church)
 

Here is a little information about the man who invested so much in our church:
Reverend William Hardesty was born in 1776. William Hardesty rode the same Methodist circuit as Francis Asbury (John Wesley’s, founder of Methodism, Superintendent of Operations in
America) in 1799. They rode 30 miles together along the Susquehanna in Maryland. Five days
later Asbury put Hardesty on a stage for Milford, Delaware. Hardesty is known for being apart of the Underground Railroad, giving refuge to fleeing slaves. Hardesty was a businessman and had many children. One of his sons, Reverend George Hardesty, became the first Mayor of the Incorporated Village of Malvern, the first Banker in Malvern, he was postmaster from 1841-1848 and a member of Malvern Select School’s Board of Directors. Rev. George also served one term in the Ohio House of Representatives.

In 1896, Rev. George Hardesty helped contribute to the building of the now standing Malvern
United Methodist Church. Our church is constructed of hand-chipped black rock-faced bricks that were burned in a Malvern brickyard. The stained-glass windows are original and hand painted. The foundation is comprised of red hand molded brick burned in a Malvern brickyard from the old church that was tore down for this structure. The church bell was cast 1866 in Cincinnati.

Sidney Rose Badgley was the architect of our church. He was known for constructing huge
cathedrals. We wonder why he scaled down the size of our church while designing it. On the
inside of the church, if you look up in the sanctuary you can see that the ceiling is symmetrical
and forms a cross. There is a thermometer on the west side of the church that has been hanging in our church since the late 1800’s.

The Hardesty family did a tremendous amount for the communities of Troy and Malvern. We
still appreciate the Hardesty Family for giving us an exquisite place to talk to God.

If you have anymore information on the History of our church, please feel free to contact us and
let us in on something we may not already know about!