The Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel is a historic
church located in
Kane, Pennsylvania, in
McKean County
McKean County is a rural county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,432. Its county seat is Smethport. The county was created in 1804 and organized in 1826. It was named in honor of former Pennsylv ...
. The small, stone
Gothic Revival
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 ...
chapel was constructed from 1876 to 1878 and was dedicated to the
American Civil War General
Thomas L. Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883) was an American attorney, abolitionist, philanthropist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colon ...
, a founder of Kane.
[O'Malley, § 8, p. 2.] It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on March 29, 1978.
History
The church was designed by Henry J. Taylor of
Philadelphia and was the first
Presbyterian church in McKean County. The church was dedicated to General Kane, who had donated the land for the church, and was situated such that the congregation would be facing in the direction of
Jerusalem.
Kane died in 1883 and, at his request, was interred outside the church, between the two front entrances.
The church was purchased by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1970, to function as a memorial to Kane, who was a supporter of the Mormons and had acted as a mediator between the Mormons and the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
. The church also functions as a branch of the
Family History Library
The Family History Library (FHL) is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
. A replica of the statue of Kane in the
Utah State Capitol
The Utah State Capitol is the house of government for the U.S. state of Utah. The building houses the chambers and offices of the Utah State Legislature, the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, the State Auditor and ...
was placed outside the church.
On August 1, 2014, the LDS Church donated the church to the Kane Historic Preservation Society as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Kane.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in McKean County, Pennsylvania
References
Sources
*
External links
Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel - Mormon Historic Site Registry
Churches completed in 1878
19th-century churches in the United States
Gothic Revival church buildings in Pennsylvania
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Churches in McKean County, Pennsylvania
Latter Day Saint church buildings
Meetinghouses of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in McKean County, Pennsylvania
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