The Community Methodist
Church (560 Third
Street)
“The
Church site cost $250.00 and Cozens and Hammond graded it as a
contribution to the effort.†- Elizabeth Hammond, member of the
congregation,1931
When the townspeople decided to build a new church
in the middle of the Depression, the First National Bank of
Oceanside handled financing on a monthly basis... until the bank
failed. It was a hopeless setback. But then Mr. J.W. Leslie reached
deep into his pockets and produced sixty dollars. His contribution
enabled the project to survive.
By 1940, members had finally paid off the loan.
Within a decade, however, the congregation outgrew the building and
relocated to 170 Calle Magdalena.
The downtown site is also the location of the first
church in Encinitas built by townspeople in 1887. The church was
moved by wagon to San Marcos in the early 1900s and exists there
today as the Grace Episcopal Church of the Valley on Rose Ranch
Road.