Then a church was organized. The change which followed was swift, striking, thorough, and enduring. The public property of the town, once a source of graft and demoralization, became a public asset. The value of real estate increased beyond all proportion to the general rise of land values elsewhere. In the decade and a half which has elapsed since the church began its work, boys and girls of a new type have been brought up. The reputation of the village has been changed from bad to good, public order has greatly improved, and the growth of the place as a summer resort has begun. It is fair to say that the establishment of the church under Mr. Gill began a new era in the history of the town." It was with this record of practical success in the country church, supplemented by the very unusual experience as an investigator which he acquired in collecting and analyzing the material for "The Country Church," that Mr. Gill approached the task whose results are here set down. The task of ascertaining with accuracy the conditions of the country church in other portions of the United States still remains. The remedies are yet to be applied. GIFFORD PINCHOT. Milford, Penna. Aug. 26, 1918. SIX THOUSAND COUNTRY CHURCHES PART I CONDITIONS AND REMEDIES SIX THOUSAND COUNTRY CHURCHES CHAPTER I HOW THE FACTS WERE GATHERED The Commission on Church and Country Life of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America conducted the work whose results are summarized in this book. Several thousand persons assisted in collecting the data here given. Lists of churches were obtained from correspondents in every township in Ohio, and township maps were sent to them for marking the location of the churches. Ministers, clerks, and other officers of churches, district superintendents, and other denominational leaders gave indispensable information. The very important material gathered by the Ohio Rural Life Survey, including country church maps of twelve counties and many data for seventeen other counties, was placed at the disposal of the Commission. Invaluable assistance has been rendered by State, County, and Township Sunday School Associations. In about half of the townships, officers of the township associations supplied needed information. Miss Clara E. Clemmer, Secretary of the County Association, gathered nearly all the data for Preble County. The Rev. C. A. Spriggs, a Missionary of the American Sunday School Union, furnished most of the facts used in making the map of Pike County. In a few counties, superintendents of public schools either gave desired information themselves, or supplied the names of others who did, and in some cases the agricultural agents lent a hand.