Churches The establishing of resident congregation in Bridgeport came soon after the town sprang up in 1900 with the Methodists in the field first. The Presbyterian, the Episcopal and the Baptist congregations followed. The Catholic, Lutheran, Evangelical and Seven Day Adventist while having no church edifice, held occasional services in Bridgeport. The United Brethren congregation built a church in 1904, and maintained actively for quite a few years and then sold their building to the Presbyterian

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

people. Rev. Wagner was their first pastor. Rev. S. H. King has served the people of the Presbyterian congregation for the past three years, or since the resignation of Rev. George F. MacDougall.

Rev. E. R. Kendall came to the Methodist people in 1919, before him Rev. A. J. May had served this congregation.

An interesting and memorial occasion for the Presbyterian workers of this vicinity was in April, 1919.

The Box Butte Presbytery was in session for three days in Bridgeport and brought a very large number of visitors to the city. Among those who were present were the following: Rev. Alexander Wimberly, of Bayard, also the moderator; Rev. E. A. Sayre, of Gering, the clerk of Presbytery; Rev. Ben Fye, temporary clerk, clerk of Presbytery, and a resident of Scottsbluff; Rev. A. J. Kearns, of Alliance; Rev. W. H. Kearns, Omaha ; Rev. P. P. Keplinger, Mitchell ; Rev. E. A. Steen, Scottsbluff ; Rev. George Woodward, Broadwater; Rev. J. P. Miller, Gordon; Rev. T. J. Hunter, Kimball; Rev. J. B. Currens, Morrill; Rev. Thomas Osborn, Bayard ; Mr. R. V. Crone, president of Hasting College, and Dr. E. H. Lehman, of Lolodorf, Africa.