Preachers traveled throughout southern New Jersey in the Gloucester County Circuit as early as 1819. The first record of a meeting in Glassboro indicates that people gathered in an old schoolhouse in 1820. With interest growing, an official class was organized in Glassboro in 1823 under the leadership of Joseph Albertson and it met at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

Land was purchased in 1833 for the purpose of building a Methodist place of worship. Located on Broad Street, now the intersection of Delsea Drive and McClelland Avenue the building was named the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church. As the church membership grew, the need for a larger building became apparent. In 1854 property on the corner of Academy and New Streets was purchased from the Stanger family. The large clock commissioned for the church’s tower became a focal point of the community as any of the four sides could be seen from any angle. The colonial-style church was dedicated in 1855.

In 1939, the congregation which has previously changed their name to the Methodist Episcopal Church, changed the name again to First Methodist Church. The name changed again in 1968 to First United Methodist Church.