New England Church

St. George’s Episcopal Church, Central Falls // 1922

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Tucked away in the middle of a residential neighborhood in the dense city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, this Neo-Gothic style church more closely resembles an English country church than one typically found in a dense, industrial city. This is the St. George’s Episcopal Church, located at the corner of Central and Clinton streets, and built for the local Episcopal congregation there in 1922. The church was designed by the Rhode Island architectural firm of Clarke & Howe and is built of rough-faced stone with limestone trim. The highlight of the design is the large central tower with lancet, stained glass window, and belfry. 

East Church of Salem – Salem Witch Museum // 1844

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One of the most recognizable buildings in Salem is the former East Church, now occupied by the Salem Witch Museum. The East Church was constructed between 1844 and 1846 for the oldest branch of the First Church of Salem, which originally organized in 1718. The stunning Gothic Revival church has been credited to architect Minard Lafever (1798-1854), a prominent New York architect known for his Gothic, Greek and other Exotic Revival style buildings. Constructed of brownstone, a material Lafever utilized for his New York City churches built at the same time, the East Church exhibited pointed arch stained glass windows, crenellation resembling battlements, and once featured two, four-stage octagonal towers, which were cut down in the 1920s to their current height. The church suffered from a massive fire in the early 20th century and the church eventually moved out in the 1950s. The building was occupied by the Salem Auto Museum until another fire in 1969. In 1972, the Salem Witch Museum moved in and completely updated the interior.

Assumption Roman Catholic Church // 1922

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As Chicopee developed into one of the major industrial cities in Western Massachusetts, immigrant groups moved there, finding work at some of the major manufacturing companies. Irish and Polish churches were built and French and French Canadian residents too built their own church, where they could gather and worship in their native language. A wood-frame church was first built in the 1870s and used until it was destroyed by fire in 1912. It took a decade for the congregation to gather enough funds to purchase a new lot and build a new church, but patience was a virtue as their church is a stunner! The cornerstone for the church was laid in 1922 and the building was designed by local architect, George P. Dion, and constructed at the cost of $200,000. The building was dedicated in 1925 and is one of the finest, and most unique churches in the state. Italian Renaissance Revival in style, the church stands out for its 85-foot-tall campanile and cast-stone high-relief in the pediment at the facade. It is believed that within the relief, that depicts the figure of Mary surrounded by Cherubs, depicting the “Assumption of the Virgin,” George P. Dion used the likeness of his granddaughter as a face of one of the cherubs. The congregation moved out of the building but has been recently mortgaged to a new church, Iglesia Cristiana Casa De Paz y Restauración, showcasing the ever-changing demographics that keep our cities vibrant and stewards that do right by our collective history and buildings.

North Cornwall Congregational Church // 1826

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During the nineteenth century several small rural settlements dotted the landscape in Cornwall, Connecticut. In 1782, a group of “strict Congregationalists” seceded from the established Congregational church in town and constructed a “second” church in Cornwall Center. Following this, the town was divided into north and south parishes, with First Church built on the town center and the Second Church, this building, constructed in North Cornwall village in 1826. The North Congregational church is among the town’s finest Federal style buildings in the region and features three entrances with fanlight transoms and the bays of the facade are broken up by two-story fluted pilasters.

All Soul’s Chapel, Poland Springs // 1912

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As part of the ever-growing Poland Springs Resort in Poland, Maine, the operators of the Poland Springs Hotel sought to erect a house of worship for guests and local community members. In 1909, fundraising had risen to total of $15,000 and that, along with a matching contribution by the Ricker Family, who owned the Poland Springs Resort, allowed for the hiring of an architect and the project to commence. Boston-area architect George Henri Desmond furnished the plans for the chapel, and were also hired by the Ricker family to complete plans for alterations to the Mt. Kineo House on Moosehead Lake during the same time period. All Souls Chapel is a Neo-Gothic Revival building constructed of irregular granite blocks with a gable roof covered with slate. It has a central tower with a flat parapet roof and a belfry with ornate louvered openings. The tower is square in plan and contains the principal entrance to the chapel. When the chapel was opened in 1912, it was opened as an interdenominational place of worship for use by Catholics and Protestants. Guests contributed much of the interior furnishings and all of the memorial hand-painted windows placed in the chapel were sponsored by guests or relatives of longtime guests. Today, the chapel hosts weddings, baptisms, and other similar events.

New Gloucester Universalist Meeting House // 1839

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Constructed in 1839 by local carpenter/builder Jeremiah Cotton, the Universalist Meeting House of New Gloucester, Maine, is a dignified example of the Greek Revival style in a rural context. The First Universalist Society of Christians in New Gloucester was organized in 1805 with members drawn from nearby communities including those of Gray and Poland. In 1830, the congregation reorganized itself into the First Universalist Society of New Gloucester and Pownal. During its early history services were apparently held at various places in the community for it was not until November of 1838 that a meeting was called “…to take such measures for Building a meeting house as a majority of Subscribers or proprietors may think proper.” After World War I, membership began to decline and from the 1930s until the society’s demise in 1957 services were infrequently held. In 1969 the property was acquired by the New Gloucester Historical Society, who maintained and restored the building. The flushboard siding, fully pedimented gable, pilasters, and symmetrical façade containing two entry doors, all work together to display the Greek Revival style in a high-style example, but in a rural setting. The building appears to be opened periodically by the Historical Society.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Card Memorial Chapel // 1898

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Cemetery chapels are fairly uncommon, but always a must-see when exploring a new place. These small charming buildings help bridge the gap between life and death and are often adorned with a permanence not seen in our lifetimes. This is the Card Memorial Chapel in the Spring Brook Cemetery of Mansfield, Massachusetts. The chapel was erected in 1898 as a memorial to 31-year-old Mary Lewis Card, who died in 1896. Mary’s parents, Simon W. Card and Mary J. Card, founded S.W. Card Manufacturing Company in 1874. The Mansfield-based company did very well and manufactured tap and die tools locally, shipping them all over the country. Before her abrupt death, Mary Lewis Card was set to marry architect Charles Eastman, who is credited with designing the memorial to his late-fiance. The chapel borrows from the Romanesque and Victorian Gothic styles, and is constructed of red brick laid with a tinted mortar atop a foundation of Quincy granite. The various roof sections are sheathed in green slate. The building displays a cross plan with a central tower rising forty-two feet from the ground to the apex, topped by a steeply pitched pyramidal roof. The building was restored years ago and still looks great!

Mansfield Orthodox Congregational Church // 1839

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Welcome to Mansfield, Massachusetts! Located in the southeastern part of the state, this very suburban town is often overlooked in terms of architecture, but there are definitely some great buildings to discover. This is the Orthodox Congregational Church of Mansfield, an 1839 edifice at the town’s South Common. The congregation was established in the 1730s and followed strict Congregationalist beliefs, which were at odds with the growing tide of Unitarianism which was becoming a dominant belief in the Commonwealth by the early 1800s. The differences came to a head when the Anti-Slavery Riot of 1836 occured. Factions of local pro- and anti-slavery residents fought when Charles C. Burleigh, Secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, was invited, with the consent of the parish committee, to lecture in the meeting-house. This difference of theological taste as well as a difference of opinion on the idea of slavery led, in 1838, to the forming of a new society, the Orthodox Congregational Society, who built this church soon-after. While the split-off congregationalists were “behind the times”, among the separatists were Hermon Hall and Deacon Otis Allen, secretary and president of the Mansfield Anti-Slavery Society. This church was completed in 1839, and was altered and enlarged in the 1850s and 1870s.

Head Tide Church // 1838

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In the early 19th century, Head Tide was a bustling village within the Town of Alna, Maine, supported by mills at the dam, agriculture and apple orchards, boat building, fishing and forestry. As Head Tide grew in population, village leaders determined to build their own Congregational church so they would not have to travel the three miles to the 1789 Meeting House in Alna Center. The Head Tide Church in Alna, Maine was dedicated in November 1838 and sits on a hill overlooking the village. The Head Tide Church is a handsome rural Maine house of worship which exhibits a combination of Federal style, Greek Revival, and Gothic Revival elements in its design. The facade displays the outline of a Grecian temple front with its six pilasters and strongly accented triangular pediment. The Federal fan motif appears above the two facade windows as well as in the center of the pediment and the Gothic Revival influence is felt in the two pointed arch windows on either side of the church and in the simple pinnacle at the top of each corner of the belfry. The church is a high-style building for the rural Maine village and is kept very well by the community. The congregation disbanded, but the church remains an important part of the town and is rented for memorial services, events, weddings.