St. Peter's Episcopal Church is a large 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 architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...

Episcopal 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 States ...

church building located at the corner of Division and Telegraph streets in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,63 ...

. Built in 1868, it is the oldest Episcopal church still in use in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. On January 3, 1978, it was 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 ...

History

On November 9, 1863, laymen D. S. King and A. H. Griswold were selected as the first

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

s of the new

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in Carson City. Nevada territorial

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

James W. Nye and businessman Henry Marvin Yerington were among the first

vestrymen A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...

. The site for a new church building was acquired in 1865. The women of the congregation helped raise construction funds through social events, such as sales at fairs and other activities.

Construction

Building plans were announced in July 1867. The Corbett brothers built the exterior walls and shingled roof by October 27 of that year and completed the steeple on November 3, 1867. Construction work concluded in July 1868 at a cost of $5,500. The first sermon in the new building was delivered by Reverend George B. Allen on August 8, 1868. The first rector was William Maxwell Reilly. The church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by Bishop Ozi William Whitaker on June 19, 1870. Work to expand the church building by commenced in October 1873 and was completed in April 1874. A library was added in 1875. The

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window in front of the belfry, a gift from England, was shipped by sea around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, from which it was delivered by wagon to Carson City. The original church bell became badly cracked by 1881, and was recast by the local machine shop of the

Virginia and Truckee Railroad The Virginia and Truckee Railroad (stylized as Virginia & Truckee Railroad) is a privately owned heritage railway, heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructe ...

. A private residence to the south of the church as acquired for use as a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

in 1891, at a cost of $3,500. That same year, the church purchased a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

for $1,700. Other modernizations to the structure include the addition of a kitchen and plumbing as well as electrical lighting in 1919.

Continued use

The church struggled through a collapse of the state's mining industry in the late 19th century, as well as temporary closure in 1909. After recovering from a period as an "aided parish" from 1920 to 1957, the building has remained the oldest Episcopal church still in use in the state of Nevada. However, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, organized in September 1861 at

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

, is the oldest parish in the state. The current minister of St. Peter's, the Reverend Jeff Paul, has been with the church since September 1995.

Architecture

The identity of the architect is uncertain, but architectural historians believe Henry Marvin Yerington was involved in the design of the church. 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 ...

building has been noted for its "architectural sophistication", with elements of

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

origin, according to the Carson City Historical Commission. The interior resembles the upside-down hull of a ship. The pews are arranged in three groups of rows, making this the only Episcopal church west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

without a center aisle to the altar. The auditorium measures 70 feet following the 1874 expansion, which added a lecture and

sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

room in two respective wings. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

is supported by

fluted Fluting may refer to: *Fluting (architecture) *Fluting (firearms) *Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) *Playing a flute (musical instrument) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump ''Fluting on the Hump'' is the ...

Roman Corinthian columns. The wood-framed structure sits upon a low foundation made of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

. The steeple is a 1977 replica that was built to replace damage to the building from a fire.

Notable members

* James W. Nye – Territorial Governor and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

References

External links

*
St. Peter's Episcopal Church
at The Western Nevada Historic Photo Collection * at the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peters Episcopal Church, Carson City, Nevada Religious organizations established in 1863 Churches completed in 1868 19th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Carson City, Nevada Episcopal church buildings in Nevada Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Nevada 1863 establishments in Nevada Historic American Buildings Survey in Nevada Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada