The timeline history
South Parish Congregational Church
he South Parish Congregational Church and Parish House is a historic church at 9 Church Street in Augusta, Maine. Built in 1865, the church is a major Gothic Revival work of Maine's leading mid-19th century architect, Francis H. Fassett, and its 1889 parish house, designed by James H. Cochrane, is a rare example in the state of Stick style architecture. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1] The congregation was established in 1773, when the area was part of Hallowell.
The work of Jane Coryell
Jane Coryell put a lot of effort and work in creating a beautiful book and documents about the church's amazing windows and history. This page shares the wonderful history of our Church. You can find the the booklet in the Church's Entryway
Impressive Architectural Complex
The South Parish Congregational Church and Parish House is an impressive architectural complex. The church, built in 1865, is a dramatic example of the Gothic Revival style in granite. It is a monumental building with gabled roofs, clerestory, attached buttresses, and facade towers. The facade, which faces south, is asymmetrical. In the center is the principal entrance, consisting of recessed double doors within a Gothic arch. Above the entrance is a double Gothic window containing bar tracery. To the right is a lesser tower of three stories with a secondary entrance in the first floor, a pair of lancet windows in the second story, and a double Gothic window with plate tracery in the third story. To the left of the facade is the principal tower which has in its first and second stories double windows with plate tracery and paired lancets in the third story which contains the belfry. The sides of the church are six bays long. At first story level each bay consists of a stained glass window separated from its neighbor by an attached buttress. At the clerestory level each bay is a pair of recessed lancets below labelled lintels. The rear of the church has a large projection which contains two lancets below a rose window. Between the church and the parish house is a one-story addition to the latter, built in 1963. Although of recent date, its low profile and simple design are no detraction. The parish house is a large and well-designed building in the Stick style, rare in Maine. Built in 1889, this 1%-story structure is of frame construction with cross-gabled roof, internal brick chimney, clapboard siding, and granite foundation. Like the church, the parish house faces south. Throughout the building exterior wall surfaces are divided horizontally and vertically by narrow wooden strips. Unfortunately its original square corner tower as well as decorative iron roof cresting have been removed.
Francis H. Fassett Architect
The South Parish Congregational Church is significant as one of the most important works of Francis H. Fassett, Maine's leading mid^!9th century architect and as a dominant landmark on the Augusta skyline. Its attached parish house is also a notable example of the Stick Style, examples of which are comparatively rare in Maine. Although the first area parish was established in Hallowell in 1773, it was not until 1795 that the first meeting house was erected. In 1793 the community was divided into three parishes, the present one being then called the Middle Parish and located in Hallowell proper. After considerable religious upheaval, a united parish was formed which became the South Parish when Augusta was set off from Hallowell in 1797. A new meeting house was built and dedicated in 1809. In 1864 this building was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Through the inspiration of their minister, Alexander McKenzie, the church members decided the following Sunday that they must immediately rebuild, this time with more durable materials. Within four months the designs for an imposing granite Gothic Revival structure were accepted and the building with its 178 foot spire was dedicated in July, 1866. The present parish house, dedicated in 1890, is the third such building in the parish but the first on its site. It was connected to the church by an addition in 1963. This monumental church structure, located at the brow of a steep hill which slopes sharply down to the commercial district and the river, towers over the city in dramatic fashion. It is certainly one of Francis H. Fassett f s most articulate and classic designs in his long career as architect of notable public buildings In Maine. The parish house, originally referred to as the Chapel, was designed by James H. Cochrane, an Augusta architect, and actually completed in 1889.