Goodfield Mennonite Church, a member of the Illinois Mennonite Conference, now extinct, was an outgrowth of the remnant of the Mackinaw congregation after the Roanoke and Rock Creek congregations had been organized from the original settlement established in 1834. The first settlers in the direct Goodfield area arrived ca. 1842, with many others arriving in 1852 and 1853, mostly coming from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Early settlers were families bearing the names Forney, Ropp, Reisser, Zehr, Yoder, Sommer, Ehrismann, Klopfenstein, and Schertz. The town of Goodfield was not created until 1888, but the congregation bearing this name was established ca. 1872, when a group of members began to rent the former Rock Creek meetinghouse for services. A new meetinghouse, 28 x 38 feet, (8.54 x 11.6 m.), with a council room in the rear, 12 x 14 feet, (3.66 x 4.27 m.) was erected in 1883 one mile (1.5 km.) south of Goodfield. Ministers were shared with the Roanoke congregation at first, the early ones being Jacob Zehr and Christian Ropp bishops and Christian Risser preacher. Jacob Zehr served 1895-1929. The last ministers were Daniel Zehr and Harold Oyer. The membership was always small (50-65) and in 1941 the congregation was merged with Morton.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1087. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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