Church Architecture

New Ipswich Congregational Church // 1903

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The New Ipswich Congregational Church was built in 1903, replacing the former 1813 Meeting House on the site, the fourth in the town, which stood here until a fire caused by lightning destroyed it in 1902. Interestingly, the design is more Victorian than Colonial Revival, which makes this church stand out amongst the village dominated by Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival style residences. The present building blends the Shingle style with Gothic elements with the tracery at the belfry and lancet windows. The architects were Gay & Proctor of Massachusetts who created a statement building with iconic tower that has been well-preserved by the congregation ever since.

Ashby Congregational Church // 1835

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Combining Greek and Gothic revival styles, the 1835 Ashby Congregational Church in Ashby, Massachusetts, is a significant building showcasing the transitional tastes of ecclesiastical architecture in 1830s New England. The church had its beginnings in 1818, when a group of church members disillusioned to the current teachings separated from the town’s Unitarian roots and the accompanying meeting house, the First Parish Church. In 1820 a church for the Congregationalists was built on the opposite end of the town common. In 1835 it was sold and this, the current church building was constructed on a new site facing the Common. The original 1820 church building became the Ashby Academy and is now a Grange Hall. The design of the Ashby Congregational Church shows the leaning towards Gothic detailing wit its prominent pointed arch detailing, yet retains some traditional Greek Revival features like the two-story pediment and pilasters at the belfry.

United Church of Norwood // 1886

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Located across from the church-like Norwood Town Hall, the United Church of Norwood is a landmark example of the Victorian Gothic architecture style and an important historical landmark for the town. The cornerstone of this present church was laid in 1885 and was completed and consecrated by December of 1886. Boston architect J. Williams Beal, got his start at the firm of McKim, Mead & White, designed the church here for the local Universalists, who lost their previous church to fire in 1884. In 1934, the town’s Universalist and Methodist congregations merged and they joined together in this, as a Union Church. Built of Milford granite and pressed brick, the United Church of Norwood features a side chapel and clock in its steeple which are unique and add charm to the historic church.

St. Mary’s of the Snow Catholic Church // 1833

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In 1830 Rev. Philip O’Reilly was sent by Bishop John Dubois to establish missions and build churches along the Hudson River wherever there were sufficient resident Catholics. O’Reilly visited the village of Saugerties, in Ulster County in 1832 and began holding services in private homes. The area was home to many Irish residents working in industry, a large number of which were Catholics, and as a result, the village here became the location of the first Catholic church in the county. Father O’Reilly founded St. Mary’s in 1833 creating the first parish of the Hudson, spanning New York City to Albany, with the cornerstone of the new church laid that same year; though, the church would be dedicated a decade later. The church cemetery grew from the first graves around the church in 1833 to fill much of the church property now occupied setting the Gothic edifice in a sea of gravestones. The church grew and eventually the steeple was added in the 1860s. It is also said that the church basement was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The church (like many in the United States) has struggled to maintain its large campus, which originally contained the church, a school, and convent, but the church remains in good condition, shining like a beacon on a hill on the Hudson.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church // 1891

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Tucked away off Broad Street in the Danielson village of Killingly, Connecticut, you will find this charming and eclectic church building, long-occupied by the St. Alban´s Episcopal Church. Episcopalians began congregating in the town in the 1860s, and it would be in 1865, when an old academy building on this site was acquired and converted for use as an Episcopal church. By 1891, the relative prosperity of members of the church made it so a new church building was to be built on the site. Worcester-based architect Stephen C. Earle was hired to furnish plans for the new edifice which is eclectic with Victorian Gothic and Shingle style elements. The congregation appears to have either disbanded or merged with a nearby church as the building does not appear to be occupied. 

St. James Catholic Church, Danielson // 1870

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The St. James Catholic Church in Danielson, Connecticut, is an imposing and architecturally ornate example of a church built in the Victorian Gothic style. Catholics in town had their first Mass conducted by Rev. Michael McCabe, a Franciscan friar from Ireland, and the first service was held in a private home. They met in different halls until 1864 when they purchased the old Second Advent Chapel on Winter street and it became the first St. James Church. The congregation, largely of working-class Irish immigrants, eventually was able to afford a new church, this large brick structure, built in the form of a cross. A parish hall and school were also built next door and the campus serves as an important piece of the town´s immigrant and working-class history. 

Riverside Methodist Church, Porter // 1883

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The focal point of the riverside village of Kezar Falls in Porter, Maine, is this large frame church building with prominent siting and grand proportions. This is the Riverside Methodist Church, built in 1883 in the Stick/Eastlake style by Portland architect Charles H. Kimball. The first Methodist services held in the town of Porter were in 1833, when a church was formed in the small town. Soon after 1839, a gable-roofed meetinghouse with tall lancet windows was erected near where the present church stands. The original church still stands, but in a much-altered form and was used as a local fire station. The church remains owned by local Methodists and is well-preserved.

Old Effingham Meetinghouse // c.1800

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The location of the Effingham meetinghouse in New Hampshire was a controversial question in the 1790’s, with the villages of Lord’s Hill and Drake’s Corner both vying for the town’s most important public building. After several votes and repeals of votes, the Town’s voters in 1798, chose a committee of hopefully disinterested men from other towns and instructed them to settle on the location. The committee recommended Lord’s Hill, and in June, the Town voted to accept that location. The contract for the meetinghouse was awarded to Isaac Lord, a local landowner and operator of a tavern and store, who promptly erected the building the same year. In its original form, the building had the traditional meetinghouse plan, with its main entry in the long southeast side and a belfry at the northeast end. In 1845, the meetinghouse, by then the property of the Congregational Church, was thoroughly remodeled in the Greek Revival style, what we see preserved today.

Former St. Mary’s of the Bay Catholic Church // 1928

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Catholic residents of Hull, Massachusetts surged in the early 20th century with many well-to-do Irish families settling in town as year-round or summer residents. As a result, the cramped original St. Mary’s of the Bay Catholic Church was deemed too cramped, and a site in Hull Village was selected for a new church. In 1927, ground was broken for the new stucco church, which was partially funded by the Kennedy Family, who had a summer house nearby. The first service took place in 1928 and the church was in use as a religious building until the 1990s when it was sold to a private owner. The church was converted to a single-family residence and recently sold to new owners, who preserve the significant Spanish Colonial Revival style edifice.

Chaplin Congregational Church // c.1815

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Years before the small town of Chaplin, Connecticut was incorporated as a town, early residents here had this Congregational church built at the future town’s center. The following decades would see the village develop into a cohesive street of Federal and Greek Revival style dwellings and shops, many of which remain to this day. The church was technically completed by 1815, but it would be decades until funding was acquired to add the steeple, pews, and other finishings for the edifice. The structure sits on a raised stone foundation and is prominently sited on the town’s main street.

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Highgate // 1831

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St. John’s Episcopal Church stands in a grove of pine trees at the southeastern end of the Highgate Falls village green in Highgate, Vermont. The church is built in a transitional style which combines the pointed arches of Gothic architecture with a unique Gothic-Palladian window, but with a traditional plan and massing commonly found in Federal style churches in New England. The church was built between 1831-1833 by Joel Whitney of nearby Enosburg, and was consecrated on May 21, 1834, by Rev. John Henry Hopkins, the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. The congregation was a full parish until 1896 and maintenance has since struggled due to dwindling use. The wooden steeple was removed in the late 20th century, but the church stands as an important architectural landmark for the small town.

Highgate Springs Union Church // 1877

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Rural parts of Vermont always surprises me with amazing old buildings. This white wood-frame church is known as the Highgate Springs Union Church, an 1877 edifice which effortlessly blends Victorian Gothic and Stick style details. The building became the village’s union church, providing a worship space for members of all denominations who on their own, could not afford the cost of building and maintaining a building. The small congregations eventually moved out and the church appears to now be largely unused beyond small events or weddings/funerals. I am glad to see it is kept up well at least!

The Congregational Church of Union // c.1841

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The small town of Union, Connecticut was established in 1734 and as with many towns at the time, religion and community were some of the first things to be codified when settling in a new area. The town’s publicly supported religion, Congregationalism permeated everyday life in Union. Even after disestablishment in 1818, the Congregational church continued as Union’s predominant religious organization well into the twentieth century. By 1841, the members built this edifice, the congregations second, on a hill overlooking the town’s modest green. The vernacular church features a Gothic lancet window, classical belfry, and later pent roof porches over the entrances on the primary facade.

Channing Memorial Church // 1880

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The Channing Memorial Church of Newport, Rhode Island was named in the memory of William Ellery Channing (1780-1842), an ardent abolitionist and founder of the Unitarian faith in America. In 1835, ten men formed the first Unitarian Society in Newport in October 1835 and met in the home of Channing’s grandfather, William Ellery, one of the 56 signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. In 1879, the congregation’s minister, Rev. M. K. Schermerhorn, conceived the idea of a memorial to William Emery Channing, whose centenary would be the following year. He decided upon the ambitious project of a new church building and planning began immediately. On Rev. Channing’s 100th birthday, the cornerstone laying ceremony occurred in 1880. The Victorian Gothic stone church designed by Elbridge Boyden took a year to be completed and was was built from granite, cut in Lyme, Connecticut. Inside, two stained glass windows, the first ecclesiastical commission of John LaFarge, flood the interior spaces with warm colored light. The church looks much as it did when completed almost 150 years ago, thanks to an active congregation preserving this great landmark.

Old Swedish Lutheran Church, Newport // 1896

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By the end of the 19th century, the summer colony of Newport, Rhode Island continued to see the erection of large summer cottages which required large staffs to maintain them. Scandinavian girls were preferred by the wealthy residents for maids and drivers, and beginning in the 1870s; they joined other ethnic groups, such as the Irish in establishing their own communities in the coastal city. In 1892, organized under the New York Conference of the Augustana Synod, a Lutheran Church for Swedish-speaking residents was established. A small lot on Corne Street was purchased and work began on this small wood-framed church. Completed in 1896, the church was designed by by architect James W. Smith in the Gothic Revival style. It has a central bell tower and a spire and the interior of the church originally had an hourglass pulpit. Gold and white decorations surrounded an oil painting of the risen and ascending Christ. In the 1950s, the congregation purchased land on Broadway in the north end of Newport and built St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. The Corne Street church was sold and is now a private residence.