According to a church history at http://www.fumcsalisbury.org/our-history.html, the congregation had built a brick building in 1857, which was enlarged and remodeled in the 1890s. In 1915 the congregation began to plan a new church to replace the previous one. The Manufacturers’ Record of March 9, 1916 identified O. D. Wheeler as the architect. (Wheeler had been associated several years earlier with Charlotte architect James M. McMichael, so it is not surprising that the format of the church is similar to church designs by McMichael.) The cornerstone laying occurred in 1917. The Salisbury Evening Post of March 6, 1919, reported that “Mr. A. R. Lazenby, contractor for the new First Methodist church, has been in Baltimore several days . . . securing some materials” for the “finishing touches.” The church was occupied on the second Sunday in March 1919. The Salisbury Evening Post of December 15, 1919 lauded the “magnificent” new church as a “splendid community asset.” The 1917-1919 church was replaced by the present brick church in 1962-1963, and additional facilities have been built over the years.