acres in Dane County (later called Christian County), 15,000 of which are heavily timbered. He also was the proprietor of the first store in the village, which he opened in 1839, and was the first postmaster. Early Mt. Auburn commerce included two stores, blacksmith shop, tavern, and other commerce around a square at the top of the hill. The Terre Haute-to-Quincy stage route brought travelers to the village. The First United Methodist Church of Mt. Auburn had its beginning in 1843 with the organization of a church class by six people at a meeting held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Benson. The class continued until 1851, when a Methodist circuit was formed that consisted of Mt. Auburn, Eagle School and Washington School in Christian County and Nebraska School and Blue Mound in Macon County. Construction of a church located where the present building stands was completed in 1856 at a cost of about $3000. Mrs. Gregg, a cousin of Harry Bottrell's mother, gave the ground where the church stands and also the Mt. Auburn Cemetery site. The church trustees voted on May 16, 1868, to erect a parsonage. The first church stood on almost the same site as the present one, with two doors, one for the men and women entering in the other. The present church was erected on the site of the old church in 1926, and dedication took place on March 20–27, 1927. In 1866 the congregation of the Church of Christ which had been holding services in the Brush Schoolhouse, some three miles northeast of Mt. Auburn, moved their church into the village and built a chapel. It was later remodeled in 1898. In 1875 the congregation broke up, and for a period of twelve years the house was opened only for funerals. A series of meetings were held in 1887 and revived the congregation. The current house of worship for the Mt. Auburn Church of Christ was erected in 1918. A cholera epidemic in 1854 created many deaths and caused those who did survive to leave the hill. Originally incorporated in 1862, the charter was later relinquished and then rechartered in 1892. When the Indianapolis-Decatur and Western Railroad extended its line from Decatur to Springfield in 1901, village commerce moved to the south side of the hill, causing a building boom for both businesses and residential property. Mt. Auburn was reportedly the