Saline First Presbyterian Church is a historic church located at 143 E. Michigan Avenue in

Saline, Michigan Saline ( ') is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,948 at the 2020 census. The city borders Saline Township to the southwest, and the two are administered autonomously. History Before the 18th century ...

. It was added to the National Register in 1985 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1995.

History

First Presbyterian Church Saline - original structure

In 1831, soon after the opening of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

, a group of twelve Presbyterian families from Newark, New York pulled up stakes and headed westward to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. The families settled in the area around what is now Saline, and immediately began holding church services. For a decade, these services were held in private homes, schools, or other meeting places; finally, in 1842, the Presbyterian congregation constructed a frame church on the site where the present church is located. This early church served the congregation until 1898, when the current church was constructed. The congregation hired Detroit architects Frederick H. Spier and William C. Rohns to design the church, and local contractor Conrad Schaffer and Son to build it. The structure and interior furnishings cost a total of $5,981. New porches and steps were constructed in 1954, using stones quarried from the same location as the original stones were. In the mid-1970s, the building was extensively renovated both inside and out. The sanctuary was renovated and restored in 1998, and is still used for services.

Description

The Saline Presbyterian Church is a brick Romanesque Revival structure, built with an irregular plan on a heavy stone foundation. It has a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

and a large square corner tower topped with spires; a smaller round tower is located at the southeast corner. The south and east sides of the building feature large stained glass windows.

References

External links

Official website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Presbyterian churches in Michigan Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Romanesque Revival church buildings in Michigan Churches completed in 1898 Churches in Washtenaw County, Michigan 1831 establishments in Michigan Territory National Register of Historic Places in Washtenaw County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Washtenaw County, Michigan

History

Description

References

Further reading

External links