- February 1, 1861: Abraham Lincoln, departs from the home of Augustus Chapman, located on
Jackson avenue between 4th and 5th streets in Charleston, to return to Springfield. This was his
last visit to Coles County.
- September, 1899: Classes begin at Eastern Illinois University's Old Main.
- July 21, 1912: The Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Charleston is organized with 29
members. Although the church history indicates the name of the church as United Brethren, note the
post card below shows the early spelling of the church name as "United Brethern". If you look
closely at the cornerstone, you can see the spelling was changed from "Brethern" to "Brethren".
- May 12, 1919: Mother's Day is observed at the 10:45 a.m. service with Pastor W.O. Stonebraker.
Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m., Senior Endeavor is held at 7 p.m. followed by the Evangelistic
worship at 8 p.m.
- October, 1921: Dedication of the church which is now the McGrady Inn. Over $11,000 in funds
were raised to erect the building and a $4,000 mortgage was obtained by the congregation which
had grown to 146 members. The maple floors were obtained from the Fuller Brothers Lumber and
Coal Yard on 6th Street in Charleston.
- July, 1945: Mortgage burning ceremony in the sanctuary.
- July, 1968: The United Brethren in Christ Church becomes the Otterbein United Methodist Church
after the merger of the Methodist and United Brethren conferences.
- August 20, 1978: the Otterbein United Methodist Church relocates to a new building at 2175
East Harrison Avenue in Charleston.
- April, 2005: Renovation of the McGrady Inn begins.
- September, 2008: McGrady Inn opens.