St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a historic

church (building) A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship church service, services and Christian religion, Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 A ...

Ashland, Nebraska Ashland is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,262 at th2022 census History Ashland is located at the site of a low-water limestone ledge along the bottom of Salt Creek, an otherwise mud-bottomed stream th ...

, currently serving as an event and exhibit space for the Ashland Arts Council. It was built with board-and-batten in 1872 for the Episcopal Church, after Robert Harper Clarkson, the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, approved its construction in 1871. With The church was designed in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an 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 of the 19th century ...

, with "a steeply pitched gable roof whose ridge is straddled by a belfry at the eastern end," and is considered one of Nebraska's best examples of the style. The design is similar to others by

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-American architect who immigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to popula ...

; however, the architect and builder of the church is unknown, and the extent of Upjohn's influence has not been ascertained. The only Episcopal church in Saunders County, 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 ...

on January 25, 1979. In 1992, the diocese closed the parish and sold the church to the Ashland Arts Council, which has maintained it ever since.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Saunders County, Nebraska Gothic Revival church buildings in Nebraska Churches completed in 1872 1872 establishments in Nebraska Religious organizations disestablished in 1992 Episcopal church buildings in Nebraska {{Nebraska-Anglican-church-stub