FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BONNE TERRE, MISSOURI |
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FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BONNE TERRE, MISSOURI |
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The First Congregational Church of Bonne Terre, Mo., was organized February 20, 1878, under the name of the "Christian Union Church of Bonne Terre, Missouri," by the Rev. E. T. Doane. Rev. Doane had previously been a British Missionary in the Northwest Pacific countries (the Far East). His daughter, the late Mrs. James Francis, who died this year [1938], was one of the charter members of the church. This was the first church of any denomination in Bonne Terre.
Much consideration was given to the question as to what denomination the new church should be. The Congregational form of government was finally adopted. The Church as then organized, consisting of fifteen members, at once adopted measures looking to the building of a house of worship. A desirable piece of ground was presented to the Church Corporation by the St. Joseph Lead Company.
In the year 1887 the name of the Church was changed to the "First Congregational Church of Bonne Terre, Missouri."
Rev. Doane left the charge in 1879 to return to Foreign Service and died in 1900 in the Far East - Pacific Islands - among the people he had previously served.
In 1910 Charles B. Parsons of St. Joseph Lead Co., who came to Bonne Terre in 1867 from Northhampton, Massachusetts, made a gift outright of the present building and endowed the church. No information is available as to the actual cost of this building but it is estimated that it would cost $125,000.00 to duplicate it. In the same year the old frame church was sold to a group of people of another denomination and was moved to another site. Later this frame building was destroyed by fire.
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In 1927 Mrs. Wm. R. Bush, daughter of Charles B. Parsons, bequeathed an amount of money to be added to the endowment made by her father, which doubled the original endowment for the Church her father had built.
Mrs. S. F. Brookshire of Bonne Terre, Missouri [as of 1938], is the only living Charter Member of the Church. She and the late Mrs. Francis were sisters-in-law.
Pastors who have served the church are, in the order of their service, as follows: Reverends E. T. Doane, John Rice, E. Loomis, Mr. DeBuchannann (supply), Reverends T. W. Spanwick, T. M. Weeks, John B. Fiske, Wm. R. Griffith, James S. Murphy, H. L. Hartwell, Wm. Smith, Alfred W. Ayers, F. V. Stevens and the present pastor, Rev. John T. Stewart, who has served since September, 1926.
Present membership of the church is placed at 129 and the Sunday School has an enrollment of 60 with 6 teachers.
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One of the most pleasant events in the history of the First Congregational Church of Bonne Terre, occurred last Tuesday evening when over one hundred members and intimate friends gathered to celebrate the twenty-eighth anniversary of the organization of the church, several charter members being among the number. A special program was carried out under the direction of Rev. Murphy, the pastor, and the choir contributed excellent music, including vocal solos by Miss Grace Covington and J. D. DeBuchananne.
Rev. Murphy read a paper reviewing the history of the church -- its pastors, the progress made and good accomplished. Rev. Doone was the first pastor and his daughter, Mrs. J. H. Francis, resides here now. Letters were read from Revs. Spauswick, Loomis and Fiske, all of whom greatly regretted their inability to be present on this memorable occassion.
Mrs. M. A. Shepard, who has been closely connected with the church since its establishment, recounted its early history in a most interesting manner. She spoke, too, of the Ladies' Home Missionary Society and the Christian Endeavor Societies and indicated how much zealous and charitable Christian work had been accomplished by these branches.
Mr. Sellors, present Superintendent of the Sunday School, followed Mrs. Shepard, and his remarks were happy, felicitous and very interesting.
Rev. Thomas B. McLeod, of the First Congregational Church, delivered the principal address and his masterful discourse was one of the most enjoyable features of the evening.
At the conclusion of the exercises the ladies served refreshments in the church annex.
The First Congregational Church was organized under the direction and supervision of the late Pres. J. Wyman Jones on February 20, 1878, and the present edifice dedicated in July of the same year.
The church to-day is flourishing under the able guidance of Rev. Mr. Murphy, who has endeared himself to all our citizens.
E. F.
By T.RESSEL\DailyJournal Staff Writer ~ Jan. 5, 2002
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You can learn a lot from century-old buildings in Missouri's small towns.
The architecture structure and what the buildings were used for tell stories of how our European ancestors made a living, what religions they practiced and what cultures they brought with them from the Old World.
For two years, David Kromm, president of St. Louis-based Kromm, Rikimaru and Johansen, examined historical architectural structures in the Mineral Area and nearby river towns of Southeast Missouri.
The project was called the "Mineral Area Historic Building Landscape through an Architect's Eyes" and was funded through a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council. Much of the results from the study and pictures of historic buildings can be found on the architectural firm's website at http://www.krjarch.com.
Kromm admits when he first started the project, he presumed the area had been mostly settled by German settlers. He quickly discovered this was not entirely true.
"Some settlements were slave-owning, others non-slave owning," Kromm said. "Some settlers came early, some came later. Countries of origin ranged from Ireland to Italy, Poland to France."
Kromm, along with Mineral Area College art instructor Jerry Walters and Washington University professor David Browman, found a wealth of architectural history from Old Mines to Frohna. Kromm discovered there was no common architectural heritage.
"The Old World sources of heritage are as broad as the Old Word itself," Kromm said.
Many buildings imitated the classical Old World architecture but improvisation made the buildings truly unique.
Workers had to improvise because the availability of materials and resources was limited to what could be hauled on barges or horseback.
"They didn't have the same materials," Kromm said. "If they did they could have copied and made it a new Europe."
Stonework appeared in towns that developed later when railroads were popular.
Construction labor was often voluntary, especially for major community buildings such as churches and courthouses. Lacking materials and books, the volunteers built from limited drawings and what they carried with them in their minds.
Kromm said St. Paul Episcopal Church in Ironton was designed by a judge, not an architect.
Much of the material to build the church was donated by local residents. For example, hair for the plaster was collected and donated by the local barber, and the lumber and rock by other Ironton residents.
Kromm said often buildings in the area tended to be inaccurate copies of Old World architecture. St. Mary's of the Barrens near Perryville was built from a priest's fond memory and perhaps, the most rudimentary of drawings, Kromm said.
Builders of the German-style Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pilot Knob had a conflict when deciding between brick or wood. They wanted to build the church with wood but they also wanted the structure to last. They compromised and made it look like it is made of wood but it is actually brick, Kromm said.
The church was built in 1861. The original altar-pulpit and the church benches are still in use. The pipe organ was installed in 1884, and the cast bronze bell was installed in the cupola in 1887.
The St. Francois County Courthouse, the former county jail and James Robinson McCormick's house in Farmington are listed on the website. More than 20 sites in Bonne Terre are listed on the website.
"You could spend a day or several days in Bonne Terre and in Farmington (looking at architecture)," Kromm said. "There's a lot there that people don't realize."
The Gothic and Tudor style First Congregational Church of Bonne Terre is one of several churches listed on the website.
The church, built in 1911, is a replica of a church that Charles B. Parsons visited on a trip to Europe. Parsons was the superintendent of St. Joseph Company in 1908 and donated the money for the church to be built.
The church was fashioned after Sir Christopher Wren's architectural style.
Bonne Terre Memorial Library, St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Peter's Episcopal Church and Centenary United Methodist Church are other Bonne Terre buildings listed on the website.
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