The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Vernon is a historic church in the Town of Vernon in southeastern

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is also listed as Covenanter Church. Built in 1853, and formerly a congregation of the

Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) is a Presbyterianism, Presbyterian church with congregations and missions throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, and Chile. Its beliefs—held in common with other members of the Refo ...

, it has been 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 ...

since 1999.

History

Reformed Presbyterians first moved to the Vernon area in 1844. By 1847, several families (primarily from upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) had arrived in the area, forming a small society of members, and the congregation was officially organized as Waukesha Reformed Presbyterian Church on 18 October 1848.Glasgow, W.M. ''A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America''.

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

: Hill & Harvey, 1888. Although the denomination already had a presbytery in Illinois, the church was part of the New York-based Rochester Presbytery, because without railroads, the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

made New York easier to reach. The congregation did not last long, however; it never had a settled pastor, and the elders died or moved away, causing the congregation to become disorganized on 18 November 1850. Some members remained, nevertheless: the present church building was erected in the town in Vernon in 1853, and Illinois Presbytery reorganized it as the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Vernon on 16 September 1856. Unlike before, the congregation was able to secure a pastor; ministers came and went, but the church was strong enough to continue during the times when its pulpit was vacant. The congregation was part of Iowa Presbytery from its foundation in 1863. In 1875, the church had 70 communicant members, the most in its history. The church's membership began to decline consistently around 1900, and by 1925 there were only 19 members.From various Minutes of Synod, visible at http://www.rparchives.org/index.htm under the "Covenanter", "Reformed Presbyterian", and "Minutes of Synod" tags The congregation was officially disorganized by the death of one of its two remaining elders in early 1940, although a few people remained on the roll of the "Vernon Mission" as late as 1949. By 1940, the congregation was not worshipping in its building, although after the church was disorganized, the remaining members replaced the building's roof in 1942 in accordance with their goal to see services restarted.''Minutes of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America 1942''

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

: Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 1942, p. 64. Vernon was not listed in the denomination's official records after 1949.

National Register

Although the structure has not been used for Reformed Presbyterian services since the 1940s, it is still known as the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Vernon. Its

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style of architecture led to its inclusion on the

on 7 January 1999. With

References

{{Registered Historic Places Religious organizations established in 1848 1940 disestablishments in Wisconsin Churches completed in 1853 19th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Wisconsin Former Presbyterian churches in the United States Presbyterian churches in Wisconsin Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group) Churches in Waukesha County, Wisconsin 1848 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Waukesha County, Wisconsin

History

National Register

See also

References