The First Methodist Church in this area was built just about the time of the Civil War. Property for both the Church and the parsonage was given to the Congregation by the Keyser family of Milton and the Thompson family of Bagdad. The Church was located on Conecuh Street in front of the present parsonage. This building burned in 1904.
A new Church, which was larger and more ornate, was erected in 1905. This Church building burned during a White Christmas in 1932. The fire was believed caused by a heater. When the firemen determined they could not save the building, they cut a large hole in the rear wall and through this hole carried out what they could. Only a few items were saved; one, the grand piano which is located in the Penfield Center and a pulpit chair. Very few pieces of furniture were saved.
The Depression made financing difficult, so for three years services were held in the Santa Rosa County Courthouse. The congregation finally began construction of a new building on land given by Mrs. Mattie Monroe in 1935 and was clear of debt at the time of completion in 1936. The Milton Methodist Church prospered and grew and purchased land adjacent to the sanctuary in 1943. It was on this property that the educational building was begun in 1960.
In 1965, the present parsonage was constructed on the site of the original Church to replace the old parsonage, which was 100 years old. In 1968, the uniting of the Methodist Church with the Evangelical Brethren Church brought the present title of Milton First United Methodist Church into being.
Methodism has had a footprint in downtown Milton for more than one hundred seventy years. Thousands of people have been touched and many lives changed through ministries in the facilities provided. God is calling us to serve the future!”