First Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 52 Marshall Street in
Coldwater, Michigan
Coldwater is a city in Branch County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan. The city is surrounded by Co ...
. Built 1866–1869, it is a
Michigan State Historic Site
The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is one of 59 state historic preservation offices established according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that plays a role in implementing federal historic preservation policy in the ...
(MSHS) and is 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 ...
.
History
The First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1837, the year Coldwater was
incorporated as a village.
[ The group did not have permanent facilities until the erection of its first church building in 1844. Construction of the current historic structure began in 1866 and finished in 1869. John C. Bennett served as contractor, and the building cost $40,104. Around the time of its construction, the church had the largest seating capacity of any building in Coldwater, and so was often used as a public auditorium. Notable speakers included Sojourner Truth in 1877 and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.][
From 1958 through 1959, a two-story addition was built for an educational role.][ The building was designated a Michigan State Historic Site on June 15, 1979. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1986, and a MSHS informational marker was erected on April 27, 1987.]
Architecture
The church was designed in the Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
style, and is the largest such church in Branch County. The red brick building is rectangular with a gable roof and a projecting, centrally aligned tower. A sandstone belt course divides the largely-above-ground basement from the sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
. The steeple, which stands tall, is a major landmark in Coldwater and is one of the tallest in southern Michigan
Southern Michigan is a loosely defined geographic area of the U.S. state of Michigan. Southern Michigan may be referred to as a sub-region or component area to other regions of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is an area of rolling farmland, in ...
. It is covered with white shingles and features two sets of narrow gabled dormers. The belfry houses a bell manufactured in 1853 by the Meneely Bell Foundry
The Meneely Bell Foundry was a bell foundry established in 1826 in West Troy (now Watervliet), New York, by Andrew Meneely. Two of Andrew's sons continued to operate the foundry after his death, while a third son, Clinton H. Meneely, opened a se ...
of West Troy, New York
Watervliet ( or ) is a city in Albany County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 10,375 as of the 2020 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town ...
. The sanctuary's stained and painted glass windows were installed in 1868, created by George A. Misch and Brothers of Chicago.[
]
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Branch County, Michigan
*
*List of Presbyterian churches in the United States
This is a list of notable Presbyterian churches in the United States, where a church is notable either as a congregation or as a building. In the United States, numerous churches are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or are note ...
References
{{reflist
Presbyterian churches in Michigan
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Romanesque Revival church buildings in Michigan
Churches completed in 1866
Buildings and structures in Branch County, Michigan
Michigan State Historic Sites
1837 establishments in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Branch County, Michigan
Coldwater, Michigan