This is quite an old church, coming up on its 200th birthday. The plans for this church were drawn by, not an architect, but the Rev. Samuel Farman Jarvis, an Episcopal clergyman and rector of St. Michael's Parish in Bloomingdale, N.Y.
Notably, this granite church was the very first in the country to be designed in the "Gothick" style, an Eighteenth Century English architectural style, giving it a pioneering role in American architecture.
Christ Episcopal Church
Christ Church is a small Gothic style church and is located in the City of Gardiner, Maine. It faces the common.
The church is constructed of granite with a single tower capped by a tall spire. There are three sets of double doors on the façade, the main door being in the tower section of the façade. Over the two smaller sets of doors are two small arched windows. Over the central door is a large, arched, elaborately designed window rising quite high in the tower Above this window and on all sides of the tower are louvered arched openings for the belfry. There are three long arched windows on each side
of the church.
The crest of the tower and the church is battlemented. At one time, there were pinnacles on all corners of the tower and the church.
The church grounds and cemetery are entirely enclosed by a wrought iron fence. This church is in excellent condition and is the pride of its congregation.
Christ Church in Gardiner, Maine is an early specimen of a form of church building that existed in the United States in the first part of the nineteenth century.
The first Episcopal Church in Gardiner was St. Ann's but by 1817 it had become so crowded that a decision was reached to build a new church. Sometime between Dec. 1817 and June 1818, the church plans were completed The working drawings and elevations were made by the Rev. Samuel Farman Jarvis, an Episcopal clergyman, who was rector of St. Michael's Parish in Bloomingdale, N.Y. How the Rev. Jarvis learned of the needs of St. Ann's Parish for a new church is unknown.
The cornerstone of the church was laid on May 31, 1819 and on Oct. 20, 1820 the completed church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Griswold, Bishop of the Eastern Diocese.
This style of church had no precedent in Maine or even the country when it was built. The style should perhaps be termed "Gothick" for it comes from Eighteenth Century English architectural forms of that name which were presented in\a work by Batty Langley. The Rev. Jarvis used this style for he recognized the role that "Gothick" could play in the religious experience. Also the Rev. Jarvis became a minister in the Episcopal Church at a time when it was trying to recover from the Revolution and seek a new identity. "Gothick" architecture could help attain these goals.
The significance of Christ Church seems to be in the pioneering role it played in introducing a new style to America and paving the way for a more academic Gothic which was to dominate America's church architecture for decades.
From the NRHP nomination form