Fort Lowell Union Church

Last updated

Fort Lowell Union Church, 1917.jpg
Fort Lowell Union Church, 1917
Location5215 E Fort Lowell Rd, Tucson, Arizona
Area.79 acres (0.32 ha)
Built1917 (1917)
Architectural styleSonoran Transitional Territorial

Fort Lowell Union Church, located in the Old Fort Lowell neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, was constructed in 1917 from mud adobe. It served as a religious, cultural, and social hub for the local ranching and farming community. The building, designed in a late Sonoran Transitional Territorial style is simple yet artistic and became a centerpiece in the historic area of Fort Lowell in the early to mid 20th century, fostering community engagement and spiritual growth for over a century.

Contents

History and founding

The idea for the Fort Lowell Union Church was spearheaded by Edward C. Clark, an Anglican lay reader at Grace Episcopal Church and associated with St. Luke's Home. Clark envisioned creating a community church (part of the Community Church movement) in the rural Fort Lowell area, and by 1916, he had raised $1,000 to begin the construction. [1] On April 1, 1917, construction of the small adobe chapel began. [2] The property was donated by J. Knox Corbett, a prominent local figure who owned the nearby farm, and the funds to build the church were raised by the local community. [3]

The original church building measured 20 x 40 feet and faced south, with its entrance directed toward the Roman Catholic Chapel of Rillito (San Angel de la Guarda Chapel) (later rebuilt after a tornado as San Pedro Chapel), which had been consecrated in 1916. The Union Church and the Catholic chapel, along with the 1913 Fort Lowell School, adobe houses, and a store, helped form the informal plaza known as El Fuerte. The church trustees included J.C. Daly, Franklin Ulrich, and E. C. H. Walker. [4]

Building and architecture

Fort Lowell Union Church, 1919 Fort Lowell Union Church, 1919.jpg
Fort Lowell Union Church, 1919

The Fort Lowell Union Church was constructed from traditional mud adobe, a common building material in the American Southwest and in Fort Lowell, known for its thermal insulation properties. The church featured a rectangular plan with a double front door facing south. The building's design included a pitched roof with exposed rafter tails, a prominent brick chimney on the west side, and double hung divided four light sash windows, on the east and west sides of the structure. Over time, the church underwent several modifications, including a mud adobe western addition (c. 1920/25) for a hall and support rooms, and a plastered exterior with a front porch added after World War II. [5]

Dedication ceremony

The church was completed and officially dedicated on June 24, 1917, [6] with around 100 people in attendance. During the ceremony, Edward C. Clark offered a dedication prayer, and various clergy from Tucson churches, including Revs Clifford Binkhorst, Dixon, Comstock, and Purves, participated. John C. Daly, one of the trustees, donated a bas-relief of the San Xavier Mission, symbolizing the missionary principle. The pulpit used during services was a historic piece, having been gifted by the congregation of the old Congregational Church in Tucson. [7]

Community role

The Fort Lowell Union Church quickly became a social center for the local community. It hosted musical programs, lectures, and events, organized by Clark, and became a gathering place for religious and intellectual activities. During World War I, the church supported Red Cross lectures, contributing to the war effort by educating the public. [8]

In the 1930s, the church remained a vital part of the Fort Lowell community. Social events like Democratic rallies [9] and fairs [10] were held at the church, while local organizations, including the Palo Verde Mission Choir and the Homemakers Club, used the space for their meetings. [11]

Mission church tradition

Fort Lowell Union Church, c. 1925 Fort Lowell Union Church, c. 1925.jpg
Fort Lowell Union Church, c. 1925

The Fort Lowell Union Church is an example of a mission church in the tradition of the American Southwest. This tradition dates back to the Spanish colonization of the region, when missionaries established adobe churches to serve both indigenous populations and settlers in remote areas. Drawing inspiration from this historical precedent, the Fort Lowell Union Church was conceived as a community-oriented mission church, embodying the ideals of service, outreach, and unity in a rural frontier setting.

Edward C. Clark, the church's founder, was deeply influenced by the missionary principles of Christian service, and he sought to provide a place of worship for the diverse population of the Fort Lowell area, which included Anglo, Hispanic, and Native American residents. His dedication to the mission of the church was symbolized by the bas-relief of the San Xavier Mission donated by trustee John C. Daly at the church's dedication in 1917. This relief connected the new church to the long tradition of missionary work in the Southwest, epitomized by the San Xavier del Bac Mission, a key spiritual and cultural landmark in the Tucson area. [12]

The Fort Lowell Union Church followed the undemonstrative architecture typical of early mission churches, with a simple rectangular adobe structure and minimal adornments. Its mud adobe construction, typical of Southwest mission churches, not only reflected the resourcefulness of early settlers but also symbolized the church's integration with the natural landscape and cultural history of the region.

As a mission church, the Fort Lowell Union Church embodied a tradition of outreach and community service, supporting spiritual growth, education, and social cohesion in an isolated part of Tucson. It provided an inclusive, non-denominational space for worship, which allowed it to unify the community in a way that transcended religious divides. [13] This inclusive mission became central to the church's identity as a social center and spiritual hub for the community throughout the 20th century, a role it continues to play in the Old Fort Lowell neighborhood. By embracing the mission church tradition, the Fort Lowell Union Church not only maintained the spiritual values associated with early missionary work in the region but also adapted these values to meet the needs of a modern, growing community in Tucson.

In June 1933, a Fort Lowell Union Church was officially incorporated. [14] Trustees at the time included George W. Royer, L.E. Brown, W.J. Lusby, F.W. Jordan, and J.C. Daly. However, the church faced a legal dispute between Daly and Jordan regarding control over the building. The case, which was heard by Judge Fred Fickett in Superior Court, revolved around ownership rights, with Daly seeking an injunction against Jordan. In January 1934, a judgment was rendered in favor of Jordan's group, [15] allowing them to continue using the building for religious services. [16]

Mid-20th century and the PAN American Literature Mission

After World War II, additional changes were made to the building, including concrete block additions in the 1960s to accommodate the PAN American Literature Mission, which has continued to use the building as its headquarters. The church's role as a community hub persisted, with events such as Bundles for Britain, a war relief organization, holding meetings there in the 1940s. [17]

Legacy

The church was known for its simple yet artistic interior, the original color scheme of gray and green. The incorporation of elements like the bas-relief of the San Xavier Mission and the historic pulpit added to the church's cultural and spiritual significance. For over a century, the Fort Lowell Union Church has stood as a symbol of community, spirituality, and cultural continuity in the Fort Lowell neighborhood. From its inception as a small adobe chapel to its ongoing use by the PAN American Literature Mission, the church remains a testament to the enduring spirit of the community that built it.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San Xavier del Bac</span> 17th-century Spanish mission in Arizona

Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation. The mission was founded in 1692 by Padre Eusebio Kino in the center of a centuries-old settlement of the Sobaipuri O'odham, a branch of the Akimel or River O'odham located along the banks of the Santa Cruz River. The mission was named for Francis Xavier, a Christian missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus in Europe. The original church was built to the north of the present Franciscan church. This northern church or churches served the mission until it was razed during an Apache raid in 1770.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eusebio Kino</span> German-Italian Jesuit missionary (1645–1711)

Eusebio Francisco Kino, SJ, often referred to as Father Kino, was an Italian Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer, mathematician and astronomer born in the Bishopric of Trent, Holy Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson</span> Diocese of the Catholic Church

The Diocese of Tucson is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory – or diocese – of the Roman Catholic Church in southern Arizona in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Historical Society</span> Non-profit organization

The Arizona Historical Society (AHS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people through the power of Arizona's history. It does this through four regional divisions. Each division has a representative museum. The statewide divisions are as follows: Southern Arizona Division in Tucson, the Central Arizona Division in Tempe, the Northern Arizona Division in Flagstaff, and the Rio Colorado Division in Yuma. It was founded in 1884.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San José de Tumacácori</span> 19th-century Franciscan mission in Arizona

Mission San José de Tumacácori is a historic Spanish mission near Nogales, Arizona, preserved in its present form by Franciscans in 1828.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi</span> Historic mission ruins in Arizona

La Misión de San Gabriel de Guevavi was founded by Jesuit missionary priests Eusebio Kino and Juan María de Salvatierra in 1691. Subsequent missionaries called it San Rafael and San Miguel, resulting in the common historical name of Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas</span> Historic mission ruins in Arizona

Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas, also known as Calabasas, is a Spanish Mission in the Sonoran Desert, located near present-day Tumacacori, Arizona, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bolsius</span> Dutch American painter (1907–1983)

Charles William Bolsius was a Dutch-born American painter. He was born in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, the youngest in an upper-middle-class bourgeoisie family. His father ran the regional Gas Works and Bolsius formally studied art in The Hague before emigrating to the United States and moving to New Mexico in the early 1930s. He quickly assimilated into the art communities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe showing with the significant artist of the period. Bolsius had artistically matured within Dutch - German Expressionism. His woodblock handprints, using subject matter from the American West, capitalized on flat, bold, stark patterns and rough-hewn effects that were hallmarks of the expressionist woodblock tradition. His heavy light-filled moody paintings with cloudy brooding skies combined expressionistic influences with expansive western landscapes and the optimism of American impressionism. His work was critically recognized and exhibited at major museums and galleries throughout New Mexico and Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Lowell (Tucson, Arizona)</span> United States Army post

Fort Lowell was a United States Army post active from 1873 to 1891 on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Fort Lowell was the successor to Camp Lowell, an earlier Army installation. The Army chose a location just south of the confluence of the Tanque Verde and Pantano creeks, at the point where they form the Rillito River, due to the year-round supply of water during that period. The Hohokam natives had chosen the site centuries earlier, presumably for the same reason. To this day, shards of Hohokam pottery can still be found in the area. The Army claimed a military reservation that encompassed approximately eighty square miles and extended east toward the Rincon Mountains.

The history of Tucson, Arizona began thousands of years ago. Paleo-Indians practiced plant husbandry and hunted game in the Santa Cruz River Valley from 10,000 or earlier BCE. Archaic peoples began making irrigation canals, some of the first in North America, around 1,200 BCE. The Hohokam people lived in the Tucson area from around 450–1450 CE in a complex agricultural society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of Saint Augustine (Tucson, Arizona)</span> Church in Arizona, United States

The Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. It is located in Tucson, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Pedro Chapel</span> United States historic place

San Pedro Chapel, located in the Fort Lowell area of Tucson, Arizona, is a historic and iconic architectural site with deep roots in the local community, dating back to the early 20th century. The adobe chapel was established by Mexican and Sicilian immigrants who settled in the area after the abandonment of Fort Lowell by the U.S. military. The center of a small settlement known as "El Fuerte," this area grew into village with rich cultural traditions. The chapel served as a cornerstone of community life and together with the Fort Lowell School House, the 1917 adobe Fort Lowell Union Church, and nearby small adobe houses made up the informal plaza and center of the community.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Tucson, Arizona, U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón</span> 17th century Spanish mission in Tucson, Arizona

Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón, originally known as Mission San Agustín del Tucson, was a Spanish mission located in present-day Tucson, Pima County, Arizona. It was established in 1692 by Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino as a visita, or "visiting chapel", of the nearby Mission San Xavier del Bac. Today, almost nothing remains of the original complex.

Annie Verona "Veronica" Barry Hughart (1907–1977) was artist, architectural designer and journalist who lived in Tucson, Arizona and was an active part of the Old Fort Lowell art colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Saetas</span> United States historic place

Las Saetas is one of the great examples of Pueblo Revival architecture in the American Southwest. Rebuilt in 1935 from the ruins of the 1873 Post Traders Store the design-build project was led by Dutch-born artist Charles Bolsius, with Nan and Pete Bolsius. The project included hand-carved doors, exposed beams, carved corbels, adobe fireplaces, hand-hammered tin, and a heightened sense of romanticism. The property and its transformation over a 150-year-span reflect the changing culture and economic milieu of Southern Arizona and the American West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bolsius House</span> United States historic place

Charles Bolsius House, also called "Casa Bienvenidos", is a significant example of the architectural work of artist and designer Charles Bolsius and an important example of Territorial Revival design in the American Southwest. It is located in the City of Tucson, Arizona within the Old Fort Lowell Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Cuartel Viejo</span> United States historic place

El Cuartel Viejo is a significant and important example of Pueblo Revival architecture in the American Southwest. Rebuilt starting in 1942 from the ruins of the 1870s Fort Lowell Quartermaster and Commissary Storehouse the design-build project was led by Dutch-born artist Charles Bolsius, with brother and sister-in-law Nan and Pete Bolsius. The project, a series of five residences, included distinctive hand-carved Bolsius doors, exposed beams, carved corbels, adobe fireplaces, hand-hammered tin, and a heightened sense of romanticism. The property like Las Saetas to the west and its transformation over a 150-year-span reflect the changing culture and economic milieu of Southern Arizona and the American West.

El Callejón is a narrow dirt road in the heart of the Old Fort Lowell neighborhood and historic district in Tucson, Arizona, United States. This narrow lane was part of the post Fort "El Fuerte" village that was established in the 1890s and continued through the 1940s. The little road holds significant cultural, environmental, and ecological history, intertwined with the region's heritage and the families who called this place home in the 20th century. Private footpaths lead to an Acequia, an irrigation canal, called the Corbett Irrigation Ditch, which dates back to 1850s.

References

  1. Tucson Citizen, Plan to Give Fort Lowell Own Church, January 4, 1917, 6
  2. Arizona Daily Star, Work on Ft. Lowell Church Begins Soon, March 21, 1917, 2
  3. Dixon, Rev. W. J. St. Andrew’s Cross, Magazine, August 1919
  4. Tucson Citizen, Fort Lowell Church Nearing Completion, Mary 25, 1917, 4
  5. Tucson Citizen, Bishop Atwood o Speak at Old Fort Lowell Union Church, September 14, 1917, 9
  6. Arizona Daily Star, Church Dedication, June 24, 1917, 6
  7. Tucson Citizen, City Clergy Help in Dedicationof Ft. Lowell Church, June 25, 1917, 2
  8. Tucson Citizen, Third Musical Program at Fort Lowell Church, February 23, 1918, 3.
  9. Arizona Daily Star, Fort Lowell Rally, October 31, 1930, 7
  10. Arizona Daily Star, Fort Lowell Union Church, December 5, 1935, 13
  11. Arizona Daily Star, Fort Lowell Union Church, April 16, 1938, 13
  12. Tucson Citizen, City Clergy Help in Dedicationof Ft. Lowell Church, June 25, 1917, 2
  13. Arizona Daily Star, Church Row Heard by Judge Fickett, September 16, 1933, 4.
  14. Tucson Citizen, Church Incorporates, June 5, 1933, 6
  15. Arizona Daily Star, A judgment in favor of the Old Fort Lowell Union Church, inc., January 17, 1934, 3
  16. Arizona Daily Star, Church Row Heard by Judge Fickett, September 16, 1933, 4.
  17. Arizona Daily Star, Ft. Lowell Group Organizes to Aid War Relief Work, September 22, 1940, 17