Elton United Methodist Church - Elton, LA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

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.

Street address: 803 2nd Street Elton, LA USA 70532 County / Borough / Parish: Jefferson Davis Year listed: 1994 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Religion Current function: Religion Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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