Grafton Congregational Church and Chapel facts for kids
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Grafton Congregational Church and Chapel
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | Main St., Grafton, Vermont |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1833 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Gothic Revival |
| Part of | Grafton Village Historic District (ID10000171) |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000230 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 10, 1979 |
| Designated CP | April 7, 2010 |
The Grafton Congregational Church is a really old and important building in Grafton, Vermont. People often call it The Brick Church because it's made of bricks! It stands on Main Street.
This church was built way back in 1833. It's a great example of two cool building styles: Greek Revival and Gothic Revival. Because of its history and unique look, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Today, the church group that used to meet here now uses a different building nearby, often called the "White Church."
Exploring the Brick Church's Design
The Grafton Congregational Church is on the west side of Grafton village. You can find it where Main Street meets Hinkley Brook and Middletown Roads. It's a two-story building made of brick. The bricks are laid in a special pattern called common bond.
The church has a pointed roof, which is called a gabled roof. In the front, there's a part that sticks out, also with a gabled roof. This front section is held up by round wooden columns. There are also flat, column-like shapes called antas at the corners. The bottom parts of these columns and shapes are made of soapstone.
If you look at the sides of the church, you'll see windows with cool, pointed tops. These are called lancet arches. Above the main entrance, there's a tall, square tower. This tower has three parts and ends in a fancy, eight-sided spire.
A Look Back at the Church's History
This church was built for Grafton's very first church group. That group started meeting in 1785, long before the church building existed! The church building itself was finished in 1833 and officially opened in 1834.
Later, between 1859 and 1862, the church building got bigger. More people were joining the church, so they needed more space. It was probably at this time that the cool Gothic-style features were added.
Even though the town's population went down, the church group kept growing. They even built a smaller chapel building sometime between 1867 and 1883. This chapel stands in front of the main church. In 1920, the Congregational church group joined with the local Baptist group. They did this to save money and work together. As of 1979, when the church was added to the National Register, both groups were still sharing these two historic buildings.
See Also
