An "outgrowth" of the First Methodist Church in St. Anthony (later Southeast Minneapolis), this congregation was organized in 1855 on the west side of the Mississippi River (i.e. in Minneapolis) and became the Mother Church of Methodism in the city. Its founder, the Reverend Godfrey was the brother of Ard Godfrey, who operated a sawmill in St. Anthony. In 1852, the Reverence Godfrey began offering Methodist classes on the West side of the river in the Land Office at 8th and Washington, later moving the classes to Fletchers Hall and in 1853 to the Woodman's Hall, which they shared with the Congregationalists and Baptists. In 1857, the Methodists erected a small frame church, called the Little White Church, on 3rd Avenue South between 4th and 5th Streets. In 1864 the Methodist Ladies Aid Society bought lots at 1st Avenue South and 7th Street, and the congregation erected a brownstone church there in 1867. It moved once more, in 1891, having erected a large pink sandstone church seating 1500, designed by architect Warren Hayes, at Grant Street and Marquette Avenue, at a cost of $150,000. The name of the congregation was changed in 1896 to Wesley, to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the death of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley.
