On December 8, 1841, Jacob Lybrand, a local merchant and landowner, deeded the block on which the Monroe Arts Center now stands to the Methodist congregation of Monroe with the understanding “that they erect or cause to be erected a house or place of worship for the use of the members of the Methodist Church.” The first Methodist meeting house in the county was built of wood and opened for use on the donated property in 1843. The church saw continuous use through 1858 when the building was remodeled.