Elton United Methodist Church - Elton, LA
N 30° 28.746 W 092° 41.518
15R E 529565 N 3371915
Located in the small farming community of Elton, this small Methodist church was built in 1911.
Waymark Code: WMF3ZF
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 08/19/2012
Views: 3
Elton is a small rice farming community in Jeff Davis Parish in western Louisiana. The church appeared to be in good condition, but closely looking at it there was some restoration and repairs needed. Built in 1911, the rare Gothic Revival style is quite rare in this part of Louisiana. Very easy to find, on a large corner lot close to the local high school.
A brief online description is located on the State of Louisiana Register page, located
here, Which states
The Elton United Methodist Church is locally significant in the area of architecture because it
is a rare example of the Gothic Revival style within Jefferson Davis Parish.
Although its use is not entirely restricted to churches, the Gothic Revival style is most
closely associated with religious architecture. The style's popularity is largely the result of a reform
effort, known as the Ecclesiological movement, which originated within the Anglican Church in the
1830s. By the 1840s it had reached the United States, where it was first spread through the
Episcopal Church. Proponents of the movement believed the Middle Ages to have been an "Age of
Faith" in which devout people built "good buildings. " These "good buildings" (medieval Gothic
churches) were by definition Christian and were considered the most appropriate models for church
architecture. The movement's tenets eventually spread beyond the Episcopal Church to indirectly
influence members of many Christian denominations. Thus, it is largely as a result of theEcclesiological movement that Gothic was seen as the appropriate style for churches for Victorians
and later generations of Americans. This influence has lasted well into the twentieth century.
The vast majority of the surviving Gothic Revival churches in Louisiana date from the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and most of these are of the simple frame type exemplified
by the Elton United Methodist Church. Historic photos show that there were once several Gothic
Revival churches in Jennings, the parish seat and the only town of any size. However, today there
are only two surviving examples of the style in the entire parish, and one of these has suffered a
serious loss of integrity. As a rare surviving example of a popular national taste, the Elton Methodist
Church is an important building within Jeff Davis Parish.