Trinity United Methodist Church is a historic

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

. The congregation began in 1825 as a Methodist class and its

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 brick church building was completed in 1866. ''Note:'' This includes , , and Accompanying photographs 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 ...

in 1982.

Architecture and construction

The architectural firm Mursinna & Boyd designed the church's primary 150-by-76-foot structure, modeling it after St. Paul’s M. E. Church in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

(dedicated in 1856). In 1864 the ''Evansville Daily Journal'' reported the church hoped to provide "one of the very handsomest church edifices in the whole western country." Work on the church began in early 1864 in the midst of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, providing substantial challenges since many of the church's congregants fought in the conflict and their families back home dealt with related stress. By June 1865, an upper meeting room later called Craig Hall was completed and housed services until the main sanctuary was finished in spring 1866. The new building was formally dedicated on March 25, 1866. The final construction included approximately 400,000 bricks. The interior of the original church included a grand auditorium, three classrooms, a minister's study, a trustees' meeting room, and a 36-by-68 foot lecture room on the second floor (later called Craig Hall). In the 1920s Trinity added a Tudor-style wing containing classrooms, offices, a kitchen, and full gymnasium. Replacing the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

columns, pediments, and large cornices popular earlier in the nineteenth century, Gothic-style buildings had gained popularity by the 1840s as the Romantic movement in Europe rediscovered heavenward-pointed arches of the

Middle Ages 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 global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Except for spires and window size, Trinity's exterior is identical to St. Paul’s M. E. Church in Newark. Inside there are more significant differences, including the height of the ceiling and the height of the windows, with Trinity's much higher in both cases. Trinity's facade consists of two towering spires, one on each side extending vertically into the air. Such vertical facades were common among European Gothic churches. In choosing a twin spire facade, the architect separated the design for Trinity from the traditional American (Protestant) Gothic revival church which called for a single frontal spire. Although the church lacks cross-ribbed vaults which are typical of Gothic Revival architecture, Trinity does feature buttresses, pointed arches, and other characteristics giving form to the Gothic beauty, including arched openings and an octagonal steeple.

History

Trinity traces its beginning to a Methodist class formed in 1825 by Robert Parrett and 11 other Evansville residents. The group built their first building in 1839 in downtown Evansville between Second and Third Streets and on the south side of Locust Street, naturally calling it the Locust Street Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1860 Trinity's members began planning their larger structure that exists today. The church's minister during the construction (which coincided with the Civil War) was Rev. Albion Fellows, father to social reformer

Albion Fellows Bacon Albion Fellows Bacon (April 8, 1865 – December 10, 1933) was an American social reformer and writer from Evansville, Indiana. As Indiana's foremost "municipal housekeeper," a Progressive Era term for women who applied their domestic skills ...

and author

Annie Fellows Johnston Annie Fellows Johnston (May 15, 1863 – October 5, 1931) was an American author of children's fiction who wrote the popular ''The Little Colonel'' series, which was the basis for the 1935 Shirley Temple film ''The Little Colonel (1935 film), The ...

. Both sisters later married their respective husbands at the church on the same day (October 11, 1888). Due to the church's geographical move away from Locust Street, it needed a new name and the congregation decided upon Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. Trinity helped plant most other Methodist churches in the region and also created or helped create many organizations, including the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Carnegie Hall of Moores Hill College, Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton College ...

and local chapters of

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, Habitat for Humanity, Tri-State Food Bank, soup kitchens, and Meals on Wheels. Throughout its history many of Evansville's most prominent citizens have been members of the church, including the Bacons, the Ingles, the Igleharts, and Congressman

Lee H. Hamilton Lee Herbert Hamilton (born April 20, 1931) is an American politician and lawyer from Indiana. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives and a former member of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council. A member of th ...

(whose father served as Trinity's pastor from 1943 to 1953).

References

External links

Trinity UMC's website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Methodist churches in Indiana Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Gothic Revival church buildings in Indiana Churches completed in 1866 Churches in Evansville, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Evansville, Indiana