Swain Memorial United Methodis

The most prominent of the island's buildings, Swain Memorial United Methodist Church is easily recognized as the focal point of Tangier.<br><br> Built in 1899 on the site of the island's second church (1842), it is the center of the Tangier's religious activity.<br><br> The Hiram Benson Education Building, erected in 1963 is named for a "pillar" of the Methodist Sunday school and occupies the site of the third church, Mariner's Bethel (1870).<br><br> Traditional Methodist class meetings are still held weekly and may be the last such gatherings of any Methodist community in America.