Situated in the centre of a small town sits this Abandoned 1800s Church! Zenning with Zay & I were on our second day of a road trip when we spotted the boarded up windows & decided to stop for a closer look. Sure enough, it was abandoned!
The Abandoned 1800s Church was built in 1881 & remodeled just 10 years later. The church was built using white oak for the frame work & red brick for the exterior all done by locals!
As you can clearly see, this church towers over the surrounding farm fields & can been spotted from several kilometers away! To the west of the church is the former rectory which has since been converted into an old age home. The rectory was built a year after the church & later renovated close to 50 years later. There is also a limestone monument that was erected in 1919 as a war memorial for the community & surrounding area.
One of the distinct features of the church is also leading to its demise. The bell tower, which is from French Canadian Roman Catholic style has some structural issues. This is causing significant water damage on the two levels below. The front entrance way is so decayed that it appears someone had gone partially through the floor! There is a balcony where the organist sat & likely the choir & it was pretty sketchy going up there but I pressed on! I made sure to keep away from the obviously rotted flooring!
I must say that the view from the balcony was pretty impressive! I absolutely loved the architecture inside with the tall pillars, domed ceiling & many big windows!
Due to the history & unique architecture of this beautiful building, it has gained historical value. This means that any development of it will need to keep certain elements as is. Its sad to see it rotting away like this but hopefully someone, some day will save it!
Unfortunately once decommissioned a lot of churches have riders forbidding them Tobe sold or used for anything else.
In Prince Edward Island there is one former Catholic Church that is being redesigned to become an apartment building.
It had wonderful stained glass windows. Hopefully they have been kept or used as features in the remodeled building.
Such a majestic looking building. I for one would have no problem living with a grave yard in my back yard if it meant saving these structures.
I actually attended that church as a child. In its heyday, it was beautiful. In the late 90’s, the diocese amalgamated three congregations into one. At first, the priest would say mass at all three churches. Eventually, there were some issues with the ceiling and falling plaster in the church in St Joachim so they closed the church and held masses exclusively in neighbouring Stoney Point. That church was also getting old and the price to upkeep and repair all three buildings was deemed to be too much so the diocese decided to build a new church. The new building features elements from all three churches: the lighting fixtures, the statues, the altar, the artwork, etc The diosece wanted to tear down this building but a local group fought to keep it open and have it designated as a heritage building. It was a long battle and eventually the church was “saved” but by the time that happened, the new church was built and there was already significant damage to the building due to flooding in the basement and the removal of the front stained glass window. I forget the current status in terms of who owns it now and what, if anything is planned for it. It really is a shame.
In your post, you said the rectory is now an old age home. Actually, the rectory was right next door to the church and it has been torn down. The old age home used to be a residence for the nuns.
Thanks for sharing your pictures and video. It is sad to see such a majestic building left like this.
I’m glad that RiddimRyder and Zay took the time to share the current status of the building that anchored the village for over a century. As an altar boy and choir member, I spent hours of my youth there, witnessing numerous baptisms, first communions, marriages and funerals. As well as the fastest mass (Fr. Bénéteau) in the county, 30 minutes flat! 😛 However, what’s sad is that RR&Z are rummaging through the church without any knowledge about the history of the church or even basic knowledge churches, like the what the rectory and that along the windows there were the Stations of the Cross. But what’s nice is that its now documented on the internet. 🙂