We may never know the age of this church, but if we use two other churches in St. Stephen, both built in 1863, as gauges, then a construction date of 1863 seems within reason. We have in the gallery a photo of the
St. Stephen Baptist Church Bible Class, which is dated April 23, 1916, so we know it to be over 100 years of age, at the very least. In the photo the lower window in the front elevation, consisting of four panels and an unusual hood, can be seen behind the choir. The old photo below shows a church which could easily be from the mid nineteenth century
Sometime in the recent past, for reasons unknown, the exterior of the grand old wooden church was completely covered in vinyl siding, leaving only the original doors and windows in view, as well as a couple of the old wooden spires on the front elevation, one at the gable peak and one at the corner opposite the tower. The bell tower itself is today a square box of vinyl, tapering slightly to the peak, where a cross gabled spire mercifully brings it to an end. The belfry, once having large Gothic uncovered openings on all sides, no longer has even vents. Speakers fill round openings at the belfry. The original bell(s) may still reside in the tower, undoubtedly unused today.
It is fortunate that the windows and doors are still uncovered, as they were quite nice examples of nineteenth century Gothic design, the wood framed windows having unusual tracery over some nice stained glass. The Gothic doors are set in interesting wooden frames, both doors and windows having heavy wooden hoods. Note also that the church still rests upon a foundation of cut granite stones, another indication of its age.
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ca. 1865 |
2015 |