All Saints Episcopal Church (Northfield, Minnesota) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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All Saints Episcopal Church
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All Saints Church from the southwest
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | Washington and 5th Sts., Northfield, Minnesota |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1866 |
| Built by | S.B. Hoag, Charles Anderson, Henry B. Martin |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| MPS | Rice County MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003027 |
| Added to NRHP | April 6, 1982 |
All Saints Episcopal Church in Northfield, Minnesota, United States, is a very old and important church. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it is a special building worth protecting. It is also the oldest church in Northfield!
Contents
The Story of All Saints Church
How the Church Began
The church community, called a parish, started in 1858. This was just two years after the town of Northfield was founded in 1856 by John W. North. At first, the church members met in a building called the Northfield Lyceum.
In 1866, a leader named Reverend Solomon S. Burleson helped raise money for a new church building. Reverend James Lloyd Breck was the first main priest. We don't know who the architect was for sure. Some people think Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple might have helped design it. He was very interested in how buildings looked.
Building the Church
The church was built in a style called Gothic Revival. This style often looks like old European churches, with pointed arches and tall windows. The church has a wooden frame and special siding called board and batten.
Something cool happened in 1869: the children in Sunday School classes worked together to buy a bell for the church tower!
Ten years later, in 1879, the church building was made bigger. They added twenty feet to its length. This was because more and more students from Carleton College were coming to Northfield and joining the church.
Keeping History Alive
Since 1879, the church has not changed much. In 1982, a group decided to fix up the inside of the church. They wanted it to look like it did a long time ago. They fixed windows, redid floors, and put in new pews that looked like the old ones. They also repaired other wooden parts of the church.
Because of its history and special design, All Saints Episcopal Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Growing for the Future
In 2013, the church announced plans to make the building even bigger. They wanted to add about 12,000 square feet of space. The idea was to keep the historic church building as it was. But they would remove some newer parts at the back and build a new two-story addition. This would give the church more room for activities and meetings, while still keeping its beautiful old look.
