Whatcoat United Methodist Church traces its beginning to the origins of Methodism here in America. Richard Whatcoat, for whom this church was named, was appointed by John Wesley in 1784 to come to this country to assist Francis Asbury in the formation of new churches. Whatcoat was later elected presiding elder for the territory of the Eastern Shore and was appointed bishop in 1800. He preached his last sermon in Milford, De. in 1806.

According to our church's history revealed in, "Whatcoat United Methodist Church - Roots and Wings", people who had embraced Methodism in the Camden, Delaware area organized in 1791. The history was compiled by Kay Powell, Whatcoat's Church Historian in 1976