Methodism had considerable success in Cornwall, an important mining area in southwest England, and Cornish miners migrating to the Keweenaw Peninsula during the copper boom of the mid-nineteenth century brought their devotion to Methodism with them. They founded Grace Methodist, Houghton's first church, in 1854. The congregation built a simple frame sanctuary at this location in 1859. In 1893 the current building was erected. The Jacobsville sandstone edifice, designed by local architect William T. Pryor in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, reflected Houghton's growth and prosperity. Grace Methodist survived a devastating fire in 1916 and is considered the "mother church” of Methodism in the region.