About the middle of the nineteenth century, a group of Welsh immigrants left their homes in Holyhead North Wales, Great Britain and came to what is Dodgeville Township. They settled in the farming and mining area northeast of Dodgeville and named it Holyhead in honor of their homeland. In 1861, a small building, built in a carpenter’s shop in Dodgeville and used for a while by a German Congregation, was bought and moved to serve the spiritual needs of their rural community. On an improvised sled, Mr. Benjamin Elam cracked the whip at four yoke of oxen (Dick and Bright were the names of two of the oxen). At the time of moving of the church, most of the young men of the community were serving in the Civil War, so the moving of the church became their father’s task. It was pulled four miles east of Dodgeville, along the Military Ridge road and set upon a rock foundation. At the time the church was served by Methodist Episcopal circuit riders who also served Bloomfield, Westly, Survey and Plum Grove churches. The preacher would preach one Sunday a month but on other Sundays a local preacher or a local framer would preach the sermon. It isn’t known when the church was dedicated, but they choose the name Simpson in honor of Bishop Matthew Simpson of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Simpson oversaw the Conference of 1863 for the West Wisconsin Conference so perhaps this was when the name was chosen. Indeed, the deed for the land is dated, June of 1862. On the other hand, during the summer of 1860, Bishop Simpson made an unofficial visit to the Conference, holding informal District Conferences in most of the districts. His counsel to the preachers outside of the hurry and business of Annual Conference made quite an impression and it is possible that it was this memory that sparked the naming.

Simpson Church claims to be the second smallest church in the United States. Rev. Eugene Cook who served the church the longest, in the mid to late 1920’s, is quoted as saying that he like to preach at Simpson because he always spoke to a “full house.” The building was said to be full at forty but at times as many as seventy five crowded in. Unfortunately, any records kept before the early 1900’s have disappeared. No water, electricity or toilet facilities were ever added to Simpson Church, although a potbelly stove and oil lamps provided heat and light. Regular services were discontinued in the early 1940’s, but the congregation from the Grace United Methodist church at Ridgeway held services there on Saturday nights for several years. Three weddings was known to be held at the church including Brad Phison and Angie Fromming who were looking for a church for their wedding after the tornado in June of 1982 destroyed the Barneveld Lutheran church.

Perhaps the biggest impact of Simpson Church congregation came through the ministry of Sunday school and Ladies Aid. Preaching service or not, every Sunday there were classes held for adults and children. Sometimes three or four classes were held in the small space. It must have sounded like a confusion of tongues, but never the less, much of the fundamentals of our religion were learned there. In 1913, James Mitchell suggested to his wife, Maude, that the ladies of the area would be benefited by forming a ladies aid to which anyone could belong if they so desired. And so December, 30, 1913 Maude and ten other ladies met in her home and the name Simpson Ladies Aid was adopted for their group. They took as their purpose “to better the social conditions of Simpson and to aid the church financially and otherwise as the society sees fit”. Over the years the group took on many projects such as making scrapbooks for the boys of WWI and WWII that were in the hospitals and the writing of letters. They also supported the Christian home at Council Bluffs for orphans. Quilts, eggs, clothing and money was sent to help care for the children. Ladies Aid was active through the early 1960’s. At this time, the deed was transferred to the Dodgeville UMC. Upkeep however was been provided by Melva Phillips along with a group of friends (members of the Grace UMC and Iowa County Historical Society). Currently, it is proposed that the deed be transferred to the Simpson Chapel Society for future use.

Adopted by Sandy Kintner from histories written by Sarah Bennett for the 125th and 150th anniversary celebrations of Simpson Chapel