which is now on the bottom of Lake Zoar and has been superseded by the Riverside Methodist Church.
    The first Methodists were members of the Episcopal Church, but by the time Methodism was introduced in this area, it was a separate denomination, known as the Methodist Episcopal Church.
    The Methodists were not generally accepted in early times, partly due to a position of the English founder of the denomination, John Wesley. A pamphlet published under Wesley's name, entitled "A Calm Address to the American Colonies," said taxation without representation was not tyranny and colonies should help their king pay for the support of troops for their protection. When the colonists learned of these activities in England, resentment was transferred to the religious movement.
    However, many of the Methodists in the colonies did not support this position of Wesley. When most of the clergy of the Church of England's Episcopal parishes were fleeing the colonies, Methodism took place previously held by the Anglican episcopacy, an alternative to the established state supported church.
    The earliest apostle of Methodism in this area was Jesse Lee, who came through this area in 1791, several years after the American Revolution. Although during that war Lee refused to bear arms, he had carried supplies for the Colonial cause. His identification with the American cause helped him build the denomination in this area, especially in view of the disfavor which the Episcopal Church was given for its ties with England.
    The growth of Methodism was a phenonomen unparalleled by the other religious groups. From the time the Methodist constitution was adopted in 1818 until 1850, the number of Methodist churches in Connecticut increased from 53 to 185, a growth of 132 new churches. During the same years, the Congregational churches expanded by 42 churches; the Episcopalians by 29, and the Baptists by 25. Thus the expansion within the Methodist church during those 32 years was greater than the expansion of the Congregational, Episcopal and Baptist churches combined.
    A Connecticut Congregational minister, the Rev. Henry Jones of Bridgeport, attributed this growth to "the fact that Methodism commends itself in various respects to the sympathy