Quality over quantity was the outcome of this trip, and this was undoubtedly my exploring highlight. At the time, I went as far as to say it's the best church I have ever explored, anywhere, and I stand by that statement. You'd never know this beauty was inside from the unassuming grey exterior. Unlike the UK, the one thing America isn't short of is derelict churches, they are everywhere and most decent-sized cities have a whole bunch of them due to declining congregations, mergers with other churches, or old outdated expensive to maintain buildings being replaced with newer ones. Major hub cities have even more than that, usually, and that's before you get into the more rural areas.
It was built in the mid-1800s (old for America!) in an English-inspired style which was quite commonplace amongst certain Christian religious groups at the time. Despite how beautiful it is, it is actually hard to dig up any solid information on it's recent history, but I assume looking at the decay the main church has been sat derelict for around five years, the attached hall a lot longer, and the similarly attached Sunday School looks to have been disused a little less time, as it is mostly in much cleaner condition than any other part of the building. It is the most complete and intact derelict church I have had the fortune to see - the stunning reredos behind the altar is almost completely intact (something that almost always gets removed), every pew is in place, stained glass is all there, the baptismal font is still present, the additional choir dressing/rehearsal room is complete with piano and there is even an industrial sized kitchen tucked away. The only damage is relatively minimal, a few fixtures and fittings have been stolen and the marble top to the altar has gone. At one point there was a large bronze eagle sculpture sat to the right of the altar but, after some idiot let slip to some other idiots where it was, unsurprisingly that mysteriously vanished and now the local community keeps much more of a watch over the building and any suspicious looking people loitering near it.
Anyway, here are some photos, starting with the main body of the church and moving around the rest of the building.
Thanks for looking
It was built in the mid-1800s (old for America!) in an English-inspired style which was quite commonplace amongst certain Christian religious groups at the time. Despite how beautiful it is, it is actually hard to dig up any solid information on it's recent history, but I assume looking at the decay the main church has been sat derelict for around five years, the attached hall a lot longer, and the similarly attached Sunday School looks to have been disused a little less time, as it is mostly in much cleaner condition than any other part of the building. It is the most complete and intact derelict church I have had the fortune to see - the stunning reredos behind the altar is almost completely intact (something that almost always gets removed), every pew is in place, stained glass is all there, the baptismal font is still present, the additional choir dressing/rehearsal room is complete with piano and there is even an industrial sized kitchen tucked away. The only damage is relatively minimal, a few fixtures and fittings have been stolen and the marble top to the altar has gone. At one point there was a large bronze eagle sculpture sat to the right of the altar but, after some idiot let slip to some other idiots where it was, unsurprisingly that mysteriously vanished and now the local community keeps much more of a watch over the building and any suspicious looking people loitering near it.
Anyway, here are some photos, starting with the main body of the church and moving around the rest of the building.
Thanks for looking
