Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church is a former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

Episcopal Diocese of Iowa The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which covers all of Iowa. It is in Province VI. Its offices are in Des Moines, and it has two cathedrals: the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in ...

. The historic building is located in

Mapleton, Iowa Mapleton is a city in Monona County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,165 at the time of the 2020 census. History Mapleton was platted in 1857 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named from its location near the Maple R ...

, United States. It was 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 ...

in 1990. The former church building and hall now house the Museum of American History.

History

The congregation was established in the mid-1880s. The church building was built as a memorial to Flora E. (Giddings) Whiting by her husband C.I. Whiting, a local banker. It was designed by Edward S. Hammatt from

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

. Trinity Memorial was one of at least seven churches he designed in the Diocese of Iowa. In addition, he also designed Kemper Hall, an Episcopal school for boys, and St. Katherine's Hall, a school for girls, both of which were located in Davenport. Albert and Edmund Jenkinson Contractors of

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

built the building. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid on May 28, 1896, by Bishop

William Stevens Perry William Stevens Perry (January 22, 1832 – May 13, 1898) was a 19th-century bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America and an educator. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Iowa from 1876 to 1898. Bio ...

with the assistance of the Quarry Lodge No. 404 A.F. & A.M. of Mapleton. The church was consecrated on September 20, 1896. It cost approximately $15,000 to build the church and it was deeded to the Trustees of the Diocese of Iowa the year it was built debt-free. with The

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows were donated by St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sioux City. They had been removed from their former church before it was torn down in 1892. A

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

, which is now a private home, had been built at the same time as the church. The Rev. William Frost was the parish's first resident priest to live in the house. The Guild Hall was built in 1926. The Rev. Vine Victor Deloria, the first priest of Native American heritage to serve in the Diocese of Iowa, was priest-in-charge at Trinity Memorial, Trinity in Denison, and St. John's in

Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numero ...

from 1951 to 1953. After working in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

he returned to the diocese to serve as vicar at St. Paul's in Durant from 1959-1960 after which he left the diocese. The funeral of Charles G. Whiting, son of C.I. and Flora Whiting, was the last liturgy celebrated in the church in 1984. Services to deconsecrate the church were held in 1988. The church building and hall were purchased that same year by Keith Robinson for the museum. His collection of political Americana provided the nucleus of the museum's collection, and remains its primary exhibit. The museum also has artifacts of local interest that appear in the context of significant national events.

Architecture

The church building is basically rectangular in shape, and measures . It was designed in a combination of the

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 ...

and

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 ...

styles. The Gothic is found in the

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

finish of the brick and stone, the pointed arch windows and doors, the wall

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es, the

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

s on top the corner tower, and the steeply pitched roof with steep cross

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s. The Romanesque is found in the short bell tower, the broad roof plane, the rusticated stone on the foundation, the entryway, and the

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

s on the corners. The main facade on the west side is dominated by a large

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

that is flanked by two smaller windows. In the

peak is a

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four rin ...

window below a large stone cross. A small

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

is located at the main entryway in the tower. The

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

pillars of the portico are connected by a sandstone arch.

Wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

grill work is located in the arch. Trefoils are cut into the sandstone railings. Medium-sized windows dominate both side elevations. The small extension on the north elevation was designed to house a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

that was never installed. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was in the extension on the south elevation. The rounded

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

on the east side of the building has four windows and is where the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

was located on the inside. A small cross tops the gable on the east side of the church above the apse.

References

External links

{{NRHP in Monona County, Iowa Churches completed in 1896 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Episcopal church buildings in Iowa Buildings and structures in Monona County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Monona County, Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Romanesque Revival church buildings in Iowa Gothic Revival church buildings in Iowa