Allen-Lee aims new brochure at tourists
From Staff Reports
religion@newnan.com
Allen-Lee Memorial United Methodist Church at Lone Oak has published a brochure detailing the church’s unique history and offering contact information for visitors.
The brochure is aimed at tourists who may want to visit the church, which has a brick meetinghouse constructed in 1939, a history room with rare photographs and memorabilia and a collection of items related to Young J. Allen’s years in China.
The Allen family Bible, photographs, a letter sent from Shanghai to Lone Oak and a bowl and pitcher used by the revered missionary on a visit home are among the items displayed at the church.
Allen-Lee began as Prospect Methodist Church and moved to the current Allen-Lee site in 1844. Allen attended Prospect as a boy and was converted and called to missions during that time. He, his wife Mary and infant daughter left for China in 1859.
Dr. James Wideman Lee became a prominent pastor and was chaplain at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis for several years. Lee also was a prolific writer, authoring several books on religious topics and a biography of Georgia journalist Henry Grady.
Lee’s son, Ivy Ledbetter Lee, is considered the founder of public relations and his grandson, William Seward Burroughs, was a novelist who appeared on the cover of a Beatles album and in a U2 music video.
Copies of the brochure have been provided to the Warm Springs Welcome Center and to the Coweta County Welcome Center at the historic courthouse in Newnan. Brochures are also kept in an information box adjacent to the state historical marker at the church.
