All Saints Episcopal Church in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

, United States, is a historic church listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and the oldest church in Northfield. The Reverend Cody Maynus is currently the Priest-in-Charge.

History

The parish was established in 1858, two years after Northfield was founded by

John W. North John Wesley North (January 4, 1815 – February 22, 1890) was an American abolitionist, lawyer, and politician. A founder of the Republican Party of Minnesota, North also served in Minnesota's constitutional convention. As a legislator in the Mi ...

in 1856. The congregation originally held services in the Northfield Lyceum building. In 1866, the Reverend Solomon S. Burleson organized an effort to raise money for a new building. The Reverend

James Lloyd Breck James Lloyd Breck (June 27, 1818 – April 2, 1876) was a priest, educator, and missionary of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Breck is commemorated on April 2 on the Episcopal calendar of saints. Early life and education B ...

from the Associated Parish in Faribault was the first Priest-in-Charge. The architect is unknown, but there is speculation that Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple may have contributed to the design, since he had an interest in architecture. The church is designed in a

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, with a wood frame and

board and batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

siding. In 1869 children in Sunday School classes organized an effort to buy a bell for the tower. The building was expanded ten years later, lengthening the church by twenty feet. This expansion was driven by the influx of students from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

. There have been few major changes to the church since 1879. In 1982 a committee organized the renovation of the church interior to restore its historic character. The work included repairing windows, refinishing and replacing floors, replacing pews based on original designs, and other woodwork. The church was listed on the National Register in 1982. In January 2013 the church announced plans for a $2 million expansion of the facility, to be designed by SMSQ Architects and executed by Northfield Construction Company. The expansion plan would retain the historic church structure, but would add by removing the parish house and past additions on the rear of the main church building and building a new two-story addition in their place. Church leaders hoped to begin work in April 2013 and finish before Christmas.

References

External links

Parish web site
{{National Register of Historic Places Churches in Rice County, Minnesota Episcopal church buildings in Minnesota Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Churches completed in 1866 19th-century Episcopal church buildings 1858 establishments in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Rice County, Minnesota