| Additional Information: | Architectural Description:
Windows; stained glass lights; original enterance covered by attached contemporary addition; contemporary rear addition.
Originally a frame building built in 1885 that was used as part of the structure of the greatly remodeled church building in 1899, this Gothic Revival influenced church building is characterized by pointed arched windows and door openings, a square tower and a large round arched stained glass window with pointed arched tracery and oculus in the gabel end (AC). The frame church was brick veneered in 1907 (C). This church has been altered extensively by the removal of the steeple in 1945 (C). An education building addition was constructed on the west side in 1970 (C). New windows and a new roof had been added earlier in 1944 (C).
Architectural/Engineering Significance:
The Church of Christ presently known as the Christian Church, does not meet the NRHP criteria for architectural significance because of a lack of integrity. Built in 1899 and brick veneered in 1907, the Church of Christ's Gothic Revival character was altered extensively when the steeple was removed in 1945 (AC). A better preserved example of a Gothic Revival styled historic church is St. John's Lutheran Church at Burton and Larson (7-22). However, the Church of Christ has retained sufficient integrity to meet the HRHP criteria for historical significance.
Historical Background:
The Park Street Christian Church in Richland Center represents a religious body which split from the Disciples of Christ Church. It is non-denominational and more conservative in its beliefs than the parent church and fundamentalist rather than liturgical in theology.
The Disciples of Christ Church originally split from the Presbyterian faith in the early nineteenth century. A group championing the autonomy of the church, it became a distinct group of loosely associated congregations in 1849. Hence, they fragmented easily.
Active in the 1830s, most adherents to the Disciples of Christ in Wisconsin concentrated in southwest Wisconsin. The church established its Wisconsin Christian Mission in 1853 to promote their denomination. But the number remained small with 15 organizations in 1863. An extensive evangelical movement in the state resulted in the multiplication of congregations in 1909. The split from the Disciples of Christ Church occurred in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The splinter group favored formal organization only at the local level (1).
The original two congregations composed of settlers from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio formed south of Richland Center in the 1850s. Circuit riders served them on an infrequent basis. One congregation formed and erected a church in the current Pine River Cemetary in 1864. Twenty-seven of these adherents met in Richland Center churches and formed a congregation in 1882. When they numbered 100 members, they erected a church in 1885. Remodeling of the church occurred in 1899 when it was enlarged with Sunday School classrooms by turning the building and placing it on a basement. It was subsequently enlarged several times and in 1907 received a brick veneer. In 1970, the congregation added an educational wing (2).
Historical Significance:
The Christian Church gains local historical significance under Criterion A in association with the Disciples of Christ or Christian Topic of the Religious Theme. It acquires importance under criterion exception A which recognizes the historical importance of religious bodies. The church represents a religious group whose congregations concentrated in southwest Wisconsin. It participated in the effort to unite the many evangelical churches of Richland Center in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This union crosscut other social boundaries to associate its population. Finally, it exemplifies the effort of local churches to unite within their congregation through the use of affiliated church groups. The Church of Christ gains significance from the period of its major remodeling in 1899 to the beginning of the modern era in 1938 in recognition of the emerging affiliated groups.
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| Bibliographic References: | 1. Barbara Wyatt, Cultural Resources Management in Wisconsin (Madison: Historic Preservation Division, 1986), [Religion], III, 7-1-6; Richard Current, The History of Wisconsin: The Civil War Era, 1848-1873 (Madison: SHS, 1976), p. 546.
2. Richland County Historical Society, Richland County, Wisconsin (Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company, 1986), p. 17; Eleanor Poole, Centennial History of Richland Center Christian Church, 1885-1985 (Madison: Library pamphlets, SHS, 1985).
3. Poole, Ibid.; Richland County Historical Society, Ibid., p. 17; Local History Room, Brewer Library, Manuscripts (Richland Center: Local History Room, Brewer Library, Mss. 299).
A. Cornerstone: 1885-1899.
B. Richland County, Wisconsin (Richland County Historical Society, 1986) p. 12.
C. Margaret H. Scott, Richland Center, Wisconsin, A History (Richland Center: Richland County Publishing, 1972), pp. 111, 146, 261. |
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