Grace Episcopal Church (Georgetown, Colorado)
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Grace Episcopal Church is an historic
Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures ...
church in
Georgetown, Colorado The historic Town of Georgetown is the territorial charter municipality that is the county seat of Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,118 at the 2020 United States Census. The former silver mining camp along ...
. Built in 1870, it now overlooks
Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
. Grace Episcopal is still an active church in the
Episcopal Diocese of Colorado Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...
. On August 14, 1973, the church was added to 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 Episcopal congregation in Georgetown was organized by 1867, eight years after Georgetown was founded. Its members included transplants to Georgetown from
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,
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,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, and the Eastern United States. The Church building was designed by local resident D. H. Joy, and construction began on the structure in 1869. A strong wind blew the half-completed structure down in November of that year, delaying construction until 1870. The building was finally consecrated in 1872. The interior of the church reflects the wealth of Georgetown in the 1870s. The original pews, which are still in use today, are made of walnut. The pipe organ, constructed by C. Anderson in Denver, was purchased in 1877. Still in use, it is the oldest operational organ in the state. In 1882, a three-panel reredos was painted by Mrs. Anderson P. Stephens of Lawson, Colorado. The reredos still stands above 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 ...
. The church continued to draw a small congregation after the 1894 silver crash. At times it has shared priests with the Episcopal churches in
Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...
and
Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...
. Services are still held in the church every Sunday.


Historic preservation

Interest in preserving the church has been bolstered by the availability of funds which are taken by the State from gambling revenues in Central City and Black Hawk, for use in the preservation of historic buildings. The church received a State Historical Fund for exterior preservation in 2002. In 2006, the church received a Stephen H. Hart Award from the
Colorado Historical Society History Colorado is a historical society that was established in 1879 as the State Historical Society of Colorado, also known as the Colorado Historical Society. History Colorado is a 501(c)(3) organization and an agency of the State of Colorado un ...
for their outstanding work in restoring the neighboring Snetzer Building.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Clear Creek County, Colorado __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Clear Creek County, Colorado. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Clear Creek Coun ...
* Grace Episcopal Church (disambiguation)


References


External links


Grace Episcopal ChurchGrace Episcopal Church listing in The Episcopal Church Annual
{{Registered Historic Places Buildings and structures in Clear Creek County, Colorado Cornish-American history English-American history Welsh-American history Episcopal church buildings in Colorado Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Colorado Churches completed in 1870 19th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Clear Creek County, Colorado