Goshen Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Goshen Church
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Location | Goshen Rd., Bradford, Vermont |
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Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1834 |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 76000141 |
Added to NRHP | September 03, 1976 |
The Goshen Church is a very old and special building located on Goshen Road in Bradford, Vermont. It was built way back in 1834. This church is a great example of a building made in the Greek Revival style, but with a simple, local touch. It looks much like it did when it was first built. Because of its history and unique style, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. This means it's an important place to protect.
About Goshen Church
The Goshen Church stands in a quiet, countryside part of western Bradford. You can find it on the east side of Goshen Road. It's a single-story building made of wood. The outside is covered with overlapping wooden boards called clapboards. The roof has two sloping sides that meet at a ridge, which is called a gabled roof.
What Does It Look Like?
The front of the church is perfectly balanced, with two doors that look exactly alike. Each door has tall, narrow windows on the sides. Above each door, there's a decorative section with three openings. The middle opening has a Gothic-style louver, which is a slatted vent. Smaller, similar openings are on either side.
Above these doors, there are also windows with Gothic-style louvers. A similar opening, now covered up, is in the triangular part of the roof. A tall, square tower rises from the middle of the roof. The bottom part of the tower is plain. The top part is smaller and has rectangular openings with louvers, like a bell tower. The very top of the tower has a railing with pointed decorations at each corner.
A Look Inside
When you step inside the Goshen Church, you'll see many original features. It still has its old box pews. These are like small, enclosed seating areas with high sides. They were common in churches a long time ago. The church also has its original pulpit. This is the raised platform where the minister stands to give sermons. The pulpit is decorated to look like marble, even though it's not real marble.
Its History
The church community started in the early 1800s. People from Bradford and Newbury formed this group. They had left other Baptist churches that had stricter beliefs. They chose this spot for their church because it was easy for everyone to get to. It was right near the town line between Bradford and Newbury.
The Goshen Church has never been updated with modern things like electricity. Because of this, it is only used for church services during the warmer summer months. It's a wonderful example of how churches looked and functioned many years ago.