Photo courtesy of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
This site is also on the National Register of Historical Places. The plaque in front of the church states:
"In 1877 the Rev. George Leonard established a Presbyterian church and mission school in Springville. In 1892-1893, this church was built just south of the Presbyterian Hungerford Academy, the only school then providing education from elementary grades through high school for all denominations. This church is an example of the late gothic revival style with a Romanesque revival bell tower. The stained glass windows are part of the original structure. The building has served as a Presbyterian church continuously since its construction."
There is now a backside of the church that was added in the 50's. The plaque mentions the Hungerford Academy. Here is an old picture of it and what the site looks like today:
Photo courtesy of the library at Westminster College, Salt Lake City
When I went to the Presbyterian Church, I met some really nice ladies who let me take a tour inside. It is really pretty, and I would recommend anyone to visit it; the address is 245 South 200 East. Below are some pictures from inside the church. The first is from a room on the second floor. It probably used to be used as a bride's dressing room.
Below is an area that used to be a whole separate room and was used as kitchen. It has since been altered and is now part of the chapel.
Below are the stairs leading to the second floor and some beautiful stained glass. A few years back the original stained glass had to be replaced. In order to keep it on the National Register of Historic Places, historic stained glass had to be used. Upstairs there is also a bell which is still rung on Sundays. They stopped ringing it for a while and Mormon people in the neighborhood started to complain.
I learned a couple of other interesting facts from the nice ladies inside. The teachers at the Hungerford Academy weren't allowed to be married. There was also a show called "Promised Land" which was a spin off of "Touched by an Angel" and the house that was used as the family's home in the show is the old abandoned house across the street from the church. Back in the day, the church owned the whole block. All of the buildings have been demolished except for an old building on the south side of the block that has since been converted into an apartment building. Here it is:
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ReplyDeleteMy Dad grew up 3 doors east of this church. (4doors now since my grandmother put a second house on the lot.) He told us a story of loosing a good arrow on the roof of the church. I saw this every time I went to Grandmas but never thought to go see it. Maybe I need to add that to my next visit.
ReplyDeletethanks for this wonderful post! My great grandmother, Anna Myrtilla Wray, worked as a teacher at the precursor to Hungerford Academy a "Mission School" of the Presbyterian Church's Board of Home Missions. She arrived there in 1882. After 5 years of teaching the children of both Mormons and Gentiles, Anna married Reverend Theodore Lee, the new Presbyterian parson who replaced the first pastor, Reverend Leonard. The newlyweds set up housekeeping in the adobe parsonage and had their first pair of twins. In 1891, Reverend Lee was re-assigned to nearby Spanish Fork, Utah. The school building of the Hungerford Academy had been completed by that point in time but the chapel construction had not yet begun.
ReplyDeleteI'm the granddaughter of Frank Osborne Leonard who was the pastor at this church from 1907-1911. His father is the George Washington Leonard who served as the first pastor there. I believe the original window was dedicated to him and am sorry that it had to be replaced. I'll try to scan it in when I find my photo of it.
ReplyDeleteGreat family legacy!
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