Liberty Christian Church - north of Shamrock, MO - Gender Separated Entrances on Waymarking.com

County of church: Callaway County
Location of church: SW corner CR-1044 & CR-1063, 2 miles N. of Shamrock
Year built: 1912
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Hale, George Edward

"Liberty Christian is the most intact example of the T-plan church type in rural Callaway County. It retains its original siding and windows. The building has a roughly T-shaped footprint on a concrete foundation and a cross-gable roof. The primary elevation faces south and is dominated by a large front gable. Centered in the gable is a rounded arch window consisting of a stained glass transom and three 1/1 wood sash windows. Similar windows are located in the eastern and western cross gables. To either side of the front gable are small square entrance vestibules. The eastern vestibule has a pyramidal roof, the one to the west has hipped roof connected to the slope of the gable. Each pavilion had paired entrance doors with wide two-light transoms. The north elevation has a small, centered, apse.

"The Liberty Christian Church congregation organized in August 1839, likely at the home of William Douglas. Douglas was also the first minister, serving for approximately 25 years. The original log church was constructed c. 1840 in Audrain County. In 1853, Tyra and Rebecca Bishop donated land in Callaway County for a new church, which was completed the same year. The original building was frame, with two front doors providing separate entrances for men and women. The second church was constructed in 1873, also a two-door white frame building. The current church building was constructed in the summer of 1912 and dedicated in November of that year. The new church was constructed for $1600 by George Edward “Uncle Ed” Hale with materials hauled from Auxvasse. In 1954 the church was renovated and the east vestibule converted to a kitchenette.

"In 1883, the church organized the Liberty Cemetery Association, though some burials in the cemetery likely pre-dated the organization.

"Located off a gravel county road in rural, northern, Callaway County, this church and associated cemetery are surrounded by forested and agricultural land. The church faces south toward a large, flat, cemetery. The cemetery is faced by a fence with decorative metal sign over the entrance gate. The graves in the cemetery face east and are laid in long north-south running rows. The markers are a mix of historic and modern limestone and granite headstones." ~ Missouri Department of Natural Resources, PDF page 313

"Two-door churches are not considered a separate property type, but an interesting phenomenon in the survey. Based on extant examples and historic photographs, rural churches in the county often had two entrance doors of equal prominence on the façade— one for women and one for men. White Cloud is a hybrid of the two types, with a central exterior entrance leading to a small foyer at which point men and women traditionally entered the church through separate doorways to sit in segregated pews.

"To classify as a “two-door” church, the buildings had to have two exterior entrances treated “identically in terms of their placement in the façade, their size, and their architectural styling and details.” In the study, examples were associated with several Protestant denominations including Christian (a.k.a. Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian, and Baptist churches. Extant and current examples of two-door churches in Callaway County also cross denominational boundaries. At least six extant examples remain in Callaway County represented by churches of the Presbyterian (including Cumberland) and Christian denominations." ~ DNR Survey of Callaway Country Churches