Union Christian Church Sanctuary is a photograph by Stephen Stookey which was uploaded on June 23rd, 2015.
Title
Union Christian Church Sanctuary
Artist
Stephen Stookey
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Union Christian Church
Plymouth Notch, Vermont
The home church of President Calvin Coolidge, Plymouth Notch Union Christian Church dates to the early 1840s. Built of local lumber & iron in 1840 as the town meeting house and dedicated as the Congregational Church Society in 1842, generations of Coolidges worshiped in this church throughout its history. The original sanctuary contained box pews. Church minutes record the distribution of orginal pews December 24, 1842. Calvin Collidge's grandfather paid $31 dollars for pew #17 "to have and to hold, his heirs and assigns, to his and their own use now and forever." The current look of the sanctuary dates to the much needed 1890 remodeling/restoration. Calvin's stepmother, Carrie Brown Coolidge, led fundraising efforts--strawberry socials and 10 cent-a-plate baked bean suppers--for the much needed repairs. Using local hard pine the sanctuary was restyled in Victorian Gothic (aka Carpenters Gothic). The box pews and front deacons' benches were replaced with elegant curved pews. The Coolidge family pew is marked by the American flag. The original deacons' benches still sit in the front right corner. The original melodian used to accompany hymns sits front left. An Estey reed organ was installed with the 1890 renovations.
Uploaded
June 23rd, 2015
More from Stephen Stookey
Comments (4)
Recently Viewed
