In 1788 to 1792, Bishop Francis Ashbury, founder of American Methodism, came to The Hollows. The first congregation met in a frame building that was known as "Old Lebanon" on Lebanon Hill circa 1829. In 1858, the town of Mount Airy emerged and a wooden building was erected on the south side of town where the Old Methodist cemetery still is located. In 1894, "Old Methodist" was abandoned and a brick building was built close to the center of town. Thus the Central United Methodist Church was born. In 1966, a larger church was built on the north side of town, not far from where the very first congregation met in the early 1800s.