First Presbyterian Church is a

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

church located in

Muscatine, Iowa Muscatine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is loca ...

, United States. It, along with the attached Sunday School building, were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1977.

History

The congregation was initially organized in 1839. It was the first presbytery established in Iowa. with On February 2, 1842 the Rev. John Stocker became the first pastor and the church itself was organized with the following members: Elizabeth R. Stocker, Harvey Gillete, Azel Farnsworth, Jane Lathrop, Priscilla Burdit, William Hill, Isabella Ogilvie, Martha Vanatta, Rebecca Smith, Almira Lockwood and Ann Farnsworth. At first the congregation did not have a building of its own and they worshiped in a building called the People's Church, which was a union meeting house, a building occupied by Trinity Episcopal and the Masons, and a log school house. The congregation erected its first church building in 1849 when the Rev. John Hudson was the pastor. The building measured and was located at the corner of Mulberry Street between Third and Fourth Streets. The first Iowa Synod in the Presbyterian Church was organized here in 1852. By 1856 the congregation outgrew the building and plans were made for a new one. The present church building was built at the corner of Iowa Avenue and Fourth Street. The

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style structure was dedicated in 1859. The dedicatory address was delivered by the Rev. W.S. Plummer, D.D., of the Western Theological Seminary in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

. The classroom wing was added to the church in 1915. The building was listed as an American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Site in 1976, and the following year it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The sanctuary was remodeled in 2004-2005. The renovation featured a larger gathering space in the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

Architecture

The church building is a rectangular structure, built on a raised basement, that follows a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

plan. The exterior is composed of red brick, and the early Gothic Revival style exhibits

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

elements. The building is five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in length and divided by

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 (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es capped with white stone weatherings. It is also three bays wide. The shallow,

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 ...

roof features a narrow wood

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. The three-stage central tower on the main facade includes the primary entry on the lower level and a

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

at the top. It is capped with a

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

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

. The door at the primary entrance is deeply recessed within a four-centered arch with a tracery-window transom.

Pinnacles A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

are located in each corner of the facade. The Sunday School building sits to the north of the church. The plan and massing of the structure is Neoclassical with Gothic Revival details that repeat those of the church. The two-story structure is on a raised basement, and capped with a

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

. The facade features a three-bay gabled pavilion. The windows are rectangular overall with the exception of the second floor windows in the central pavilion, which have four-centered arches. The building also reflects the neighboring church with the white trim around windows and white stone for the

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

. The two buildings are connected by an entrance pavilion. The stone trim and shape of the gable end reflects the pavilion of the Sunday School building. The wide Tudor arch and tracery panel at the entrance reflects the church's entry. The church, Sunday School building and the entrance pavilion form a U-shaped complex.

References

External links

Church Website
{{NRHP in Muscatine County, Iowa Religious organizations established in 1839 Churches completed in 1858 19th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Gothic Revival church buildings in Iowa Presbyterian churches in Iowa Buildings and structures in Muscatine, Iowa Churches in Muscatine County, Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Muscatine County, Iowa 1839 establishments in Iowa Territory