When driving through rural areas of northeast Washington, we were eventually able to make a connection between certain bell towers, of which this one is very much representative, of wood frame churches
and their date of construction. We came to realize that, almost without exception, wood frame churches sporting outsized square bell towers like this one on a front corner were built within a few years of the turn of the 20th century. We have since come across many of them - it seems that almost every little town still has a church whose architecture is a close match to this one.
The architecture is very simple, likely of monetary necessity. The building is a simple rectangle with three or four windows in each long side, resting on, very often, a rubble stone foundation. The overstated square bell tower, with either round or square pointed spire, is usually somewhat out of proportion to the rest of the building, likely the sole extravagance in the construction.
Though the steel roof and vinyl siding attempt to hide this church's age, the large square Gothic style steeple/bell tower is a give-away as to its true date of birth. In reverse order this church has been:
• The
Chewelah Baptist Church, organized on May 27, 2001, with 31 founding members. It inherited all assets and liabilities from:
•
Calvary Baptist, organized December 5, 1974, with 42 charter
members. Without a church of their own in town, Baptists from Chewelah had been forced to drive to Colville to worship. Initially, they met in the Oddfellows Hall (presently the home of Rebekah Lodge) until the purchase of this building in 1974 from:
• The managers of the Safeway store, who had been using it as storage for refrigeration equipment and miscellaneous items. They had bought it in 1969 from:
•
The First Methodist Church of Chewelah. The Methodists had built this wood frame church, along with a parsonage, in 1908. The church was organized in Chewelah in 1904, with services being
held in the Woodman Hall (now the K. of C. Hall) until the completion of this building in 1908. Between 1923 and 1926 the attached recreation hall was added and 1956 saw the beginning of major renovations, both inside and out. Methodist services continued in this building until 1969, when the congregation voted in favor of amalgamation with the Congregational Church to form the United Church of Christ (First Congregational-Methodist).
Given this church's age, history and lineage, artefacts from its early years as a Methodist Church are now in the Chewelah Museum. Still the Chewelah Baptist Church, their first pastor joined the church on September 30, 2001 and remains to this day.