WELLSVILLE — Did you know that a famous evangelist and baseball player came to Wellsville in the early 1900s? You will learn about that and more if you pick up the latest calendar being offered from the Nathaniel Dike Museum.

William “Billy” Sunday was an American evangelist and professional baseball outfielder. He played for eight seasons in the National League before becoming the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. During that time, he visited and preached in Wellsville, laying the groundwork for another church building in the village.

That is just one of the many facts to be found in the Historic Churches of Wellsville 2026 calendar, researched and compiled by Ann Comstock, president of the Thelma Rogers Genealogical and Historical Society, and Jackie Comstock, treasurer. It is the latest offering in a series of calendars pertaining to the history and development of Wellsville, which the sisters have compiled over the last several years.

The purpose of the calendar is to raise funds for scholarships, which are awarded each year to students graduating from Wellsville Central School. A total of 10 $150 scholarships are awarded each year.

The Comstocks recently presented the calendar at the Tuesdays With Grace monthly program. They told the group that 12 churches were highlighted in the calendar including such well-known churches as Immaculate Conception, Trinity Lutheran, First Congregational and First Methodist, as well as less well-known churches. Among the lesser-known churches are the African Methodist, Episcopal Zion Church and the Honeywell Tabernacle.

In the calendar the sisters relate the history of the short-lived Honeywell Tabernacle, which was specifically built during the heyday of traveling evangelists and tent revivals. It was constructed after famous evangelist Billy Sunday visited the town, for another evangelist remembered as Dr. Honeywell.

In September 1917, Honeywell preached his famous Red Hot Booze Sermon to 1,500 people in Wellsville. It was during the height of the Prohibition movement, which became law in 1919 with the Volstead Act.

The purpose of the building was just for the evangelist’s visit and was used only briefly. It was moved to behind the former Hamilton Shoes store and was eventually torn down. The lumber was used to build a house that still stands today (find out which one in the calendar).

Historic Churches of Wellsville holds a plethora of information about local churches from the past to the present, gleaned from the archives held in the Nathaniel Dike Museum. The museum is open to the public from May through October and by appointment throughout the year.

The 2026 calendar can be purchased for $20 at various businesses throughout the village and at the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce and Tami’s Floral Expressions.