Claquato Church is a historic
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
church located off
Washington State Route 6
State Route 6 (SR 6) is a long State highways in Washington, state highway in Pacific County, Washington, Pacific and Lewis County, Washington, Lewis counties in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The highway, which ext ...
in
Claquato, Washington. It is the oldest standing church building in the state of Washington.
History
Construction commenced in 1857 as a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
house of worship however the chapel was allowed to be consecrated the following year as Methodist with a promise that the church would be open to all denominations. The building was used as a schoolhouse, known locally as the "Claquato Academy", until a new school was built in 1874.
When the county seat moved from Claquato to
Chehalis Chehalis may refer to:
People
* Chehalis people, a Native American people of Washington state
**Lower Chehalis language
**Upper Chehalis language
* Sts'Ailes people (Chehalis people), a First Nation in British Columbia
* Chehalis First Nation, Bri ...
in 1874, the church began to lose its congregants though services continued into the 1930s.
A small renovation project, for repairs and the need for a new floor, was completed in 1929.
The
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
began services that same year. The building held occasional religious services into the late 1930s, and the site became vacant until a restoration was completed in 1953.
The 1953 renovation, overseen by a local
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
chapter, made no changes to the building but did include restoring the original woodwork, repairing the belfry, hanging new mid-19th century style wallpaper, and refinishing the exterior.
In 2006, the crown of thorns on the steeple was restored and the Lewis County Historical Society installed a commemorative plaque, a "Meeker marker", in honor of early non-Native pioneer,
Ezra Meeker
Ezra Morgan Meeker (December 29, 1830December 3, 1928) was an American pioneer who traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon as a young man, migrating from Iowa to the Pacific Coast. Later in life he worked to memorialize the Trail, repeated ...
.
The Claquato Church is owned by the Lewis County Parks commission since 1952 for use as a public facility however faith services are no longer held.
The building was added to 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 ...
in 1973. The church held a 100-year anniversary in 1958 and a 150th anniversary in 2008.
Architecture
The church was built using the first lumber milled by the new sawmill in the town. It features a louvered
belfry and
crown steeple
A crown steeple, or crown spire, is a traditional form of church steeple in which curved stone flying buttresses form the open shape of a rounded crown. Crown spires first appeared in the Late Gothic church architecture in England and Scotland dur ...
modeled after mid-nineteenth century New England meeting houses, topped by a
crown of thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...
.
The original bronze bell, as of 2021, still hangs in the steeple; it was manufactured in
Boston, Massachusetts.
The pews, donated by residents of
Boistfort, and the pulpit, built using wood from the original organ, were hand crafted.
The building is 600 square feet, measuring 20 x 30 feet.
See also
*
List of the oldest churches in the United States
The designation of the oldest church in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving ''building'', and the oldest in the sense of oldest Christian church ...
*
List of the oldest buildings in Washington (state)
This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Washington (state), including extant buildings and structures constructed prior to and during the United States rule over Washington. Only buildings built prior to 1860 are suitable for inclusion on ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Lewis County, Washington
References
External links
{{National Register of Historic Places
Methodist churches in Washington (state)
Buildings and structures in Lewis County, Washington
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Lewis County, Washington