1st Presbyterian, Fordyce

The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, is 100 years old this year, although the church was organized in 1883. 

The windows, I'm afraid, are badly in need of fresh paint.

There's some nice Victorian scrollwork in the stained glass. 

I'm at a loss to explain the deterioration of the lead.  It's not a simple matter of being exposed to the elements.  Since the damage is around the solder joints, I suspect that an acid flux was used when the windows were built and was never adequately washed off.

1st Presbyterian, Clarksville

built in 1919
Happy New Year

church web site

1st Presbyterian, Hot Springs

church built in 1907

church web site

First Presbyterian, Pine Bluff

A very tall copper-clad steeple on this church.

A shot through the budding trees.

I think this window has dichroic glass in it. It really glows.

This fine little building is the meditation chapel.

church web site

Holly Grove Presbyterian, Monroe County

This church turns 130 years old next year.

It's on the National Historic Register.

The windows show a fine mix of green, amber and blue opalescents, cut randomly. I'm sure they're beautiful from the inside, but they look great in reflected light as well.

Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church, Lincoln County

I drove a truck twice a week past this church back in the early 90's and always admired its simple elegance. It's about all that remains of Relfs Bluff, which straddles the line between Lincoln and Drew Counties on Hwy. 425.

The church was established in 1859 and built in 1925. I can find very little of its history, or even that of Relfs Bluff. It is the only church in Lincoln County on the National Register of Historic Places.

Here's a photo taken through the front door.

To the north by the cemetery stand these curious cement monoliths. I surmise they supported wooden planks and served as a communal picnic area. If anyone can verify or refute this theory, the floor is yours.

1st Presbyterian, Monticello

The congregation formed 150 years ago this year.
Church was built in 1956.
church web site

First Presbyterian, Dardanelle

Merry Christmas

1st Presbyterian, Fort Smith

My brother Jim had some business to attend to in Fort Smith last week, so I asked him to snap some pictures of churches if he happened upon any that were beautiful or unusual. Here's one he brought back that fits both descriptions.

If there's an actual architectural style here, I'm not sure what it would be. I'd classify it as Mission-Gothic, if such a style existed. Quite the belfry.

Here's the cornerstone showing 1898 as the year of dedication.

Turn of the century Fort Smith must have been home to a number of master masons. The rough-hewn stones of First Presbyterian are evidence.

Jim is known for photographing anything that strikes his fancy. He labeled this as "secret church code."

church web site

First Presbyterian, Dardanelle

The sculpture is by John Mori of Clarksville. It's the centerpiece of a nice little meditation garden on the church grounds.

church web site

Augusta Presbyterian

If you want history, start with river towns. In Arkansas, that means (primarily) the Arkansas and the White Rivers.

Augusta, the county seat of Woodruff County, was established just before the Civil War, and its Presbyterian church had its foundation laid in 1861. Riverboat traffic on the White made Augusta a target for the Union army, so the church wasn't finished until 1871. It served the county as a church for exactly one hundred years and today is home to the Augusta Heritage Center.

A photo of the church in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas shows a steeple. The date on the photo is 2005, so it must have been removed since then.

Here's one of two plaques. The other one calls it Woodruff County Presbyterian.

Cotton Plant Presbyterian

Established 1859

Erected 1920

Sadly, no more.

Hector Cumberland Presbyterian, Pope County

This right-angle layout for a church is very common in the south. The non-assembly portion is often a later add-on.

Cumberland Presbyterian, Searcy

Someone's been working on the bell tower of this 106 year old church.

Nice transom window.

1st Presbyterian, Conway

The steel cross was installed in 2005.

stained glass trellis vine in pastor's office

church web site

First Presbyterian, Dardanelle

Dardanelle's first Presbyterian church was built in 1856 and was burned by Federal troops during the Civil War. A second church was built to serve the community until 1914, when the current church was dedicated.

Raising the money needed to pay for the construction was a labor of love on behalf of the Ladies Missionary Society of First Presbyterian. The following is excerpted from "A Brief History of the First Presbyterian Church: 'The Church Built by Women.'"

"During the first year of this effort, the ladies gave each member a quarter dollar. Like the servants in the Bible, they were to invest this money 'in ways to make it multiply.' One woman bought a yard of calico and bought an apron which she sold for a dollar. Some ladies raised as much as $5.00. They held bake sales, sold manufacturers samples, and some rode the Ola train to Clarksville during peach picking season and added their wages to the building fund. Soon, the 'money-making ladies' had caught the fancy of the whole town and Dardanelle waited to see what they would do next.

"Some of the women were from 'the best families,' and had never worked at anything more strenuous than embroidery or flower arrangement, but when Calvin Batson, a prominent farmer and a member of the church, jokingly suggested that he would give them a job picking cotton, they donned sunbonnets and headed for the field. The business houses closed their doors for the day, and the men turned out in a body to watch them pick. They cheered the ladies on from their seats on split rail fences, while they leisurely ate their picnic dinners from lard buckets.

"Tom Grissom, the town photographer, made a photograph of the event, which appeared in in numerous state and national publications, and was even made into a postcard. It caught the eye of Fedinand T. Hopkins, a New York philanthropist, who subsequently sent a sizeable donation of money."

This beautiful stained glass window of an angel is dedicated to Mr. Hopkins.

"From the outset, the members were determined that the building be paid for at the time of its completion. The total cost was $8,978.57 and when the First Presbyterian Church... was dedicated on May 10th, 1914, there was just 83 cents left in the fund."

The brochure quoted was compiled by Betsy Snyder Harris, a woman I met a few weeks ago, whose spirit and enthusiasm for the church and Dardanelle's history is contagious. I spent a day there last week re-securing bracers bars to some of the windows and I consider it an honor to work on the oldest church building in Dardanelle. Thanks to Betsy and Pastor Kelly Pearson.

church web site

1st Presbyterian, Clarendon

The church Cumberland's congregation merged with in 1920 stood where this church stands today until a fire destroyed it about three years ago. The rebuilt church incorporates some of the original stained glass.

church web site

formerly Cumberland Presbyterian, Clarendon

This fine old building was home to Cumberland Presbyterian Church from 1869 to 1920, at which time the congregation left the building to join with Clarendon's First Presbyterian, just up the road.

The belfry was added in 1887.

I went to the town's welcome center (located a block away from one of the state's finest county courthouses) and there I met a very nice lady, Mary Parker. She pointed me to a booklet entitled 'Pages from the Past Revisted - Historical Notes on Clarendon, Monroe County and Early Arkansas.,' by Jo Claire English. I read this about the church:

"The very best cypress timber was used for the building, having been brought by trams and wagons from the mill town of Aberdeen. This material was dressed by hand... In spite of floods and many years of weathering without proper care, the well built structure, with its wooden pegs intact, has defied going out of service."

exposed corner joinery

After it was a church, it was library. Until '27, that is, when the floods did in nearly 5000 books. For the most part, it served as a Masonic lodge after that, but had stints as a kindergarten, a teen club and a Scout hall.

Of late it seems it actually has 'gone out of service.' It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is probably the oldest unaltered structure in Monroe County. The building has stood for 140 years. I hope some new use and attention are in store for it.

Dempsey Film Group, Little Rock

Yesterday's post showed creative re-use by a church; today's features creative re-use of a church. Originally Second Presbyterian (currently in Pleasant Valley), the Dempsey Film Group moved in 17 years ago. Downstairs is for reception and offices, while production studios are upstairs. Dempsey put a lot of effort into balancing the restoration of the building with meeting the needs of a modern film production facility.

Even the sign is an example of creative re-use.

This is the central south facing set of stained glass windows. I'm pleased to say I helped in the restoration of some of these panels.

Update (July 2011) - Dempsey Film Group announced recently that it is to cease operations. The church will be sold.

First Presbyterian, Benton

One thing that most of these pictures share is the constant presence of electrical lines. Will cities ever put them underground?

pastel diamond gothic arch windows
church web site