Grace Memorial Episcopal Church (Wabasha, Minnesota)

For other places with the same name, see Grace Memorial Episcopal Church.

Grace Memorial Episcopal Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Grace Memorial Episcopal Church from the southwest
Show map of Minnesota Show map of the United States
Location	205 East 3rd Street, Wabasha, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°22′52.5″N92°1′53.5″W / 44.381250°N 92.031528°W / 44.381250; -92.031528
Area	Less than one acre
Built	1900
Built by	Cass Gilbert
Architectural style	English Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	82003062 [1]
Designated	February 4, 1982

The Grace Memorial Episcopal Church is a historic church in Wabasha, Minnesota, United States, built in 1900. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and religion. ^[2] It was nominated for being "the most distinguished ecclesiastical structure" in Wabasha and "the work of prominent Minnesota architect Cass Gilbert". ^[3] The church reported 119 members in 2020 and 29 members in 2023; no membership statistics were reported in 2024 parochial reports. Plate and pledge income reported for the congregation in 2024 was $14,628 with average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 13 persons. ^[4]

Description

Grace Memorial Episcopal Church is a one-story building on a modified cruciform plan. It was designed in the style of English Gothic architecture, with walls of random coursed stone. The main gable ends have stone coping topped by Celtic crosses at the peaks. The roof is of slate. ^[3]

There are two projecting gables on the main façade that contain doors. The gable at the main entrance has a decorated bargeboard, a Gothic arch, and a belfry. The gable over the secondary entrance has half-timbering over cobblestone infill. ^[3]

The altar and chancel window

The building is characterized by several stained glass windows in Gothic framing, flanked by stone buttresses. The largest such window is on the northwest wall, but the chancel window at the southeast, entitled "Three Marys at the Tomb", was designed by Tiffany Studios. ^[3] It depicts the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene at the tomb on Easter morning. The window cost $3000. ^[5]

History

This building was commissioned by Saint Paul-based lumberman Thomas Irvine to replace an existing church in Wabasha while serving as a memorial to his wife Emily Hills Irvine and her parents. Her father Horace Hills had been the reverend of the original Grace Episcopal Church from 1872 to 1877. ^[3]

See also

• List of Anglican churches
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wabasha County, Minnesota

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "Grace Memorial Episcopal Church". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
3. Kudzia, Camille (February 1980). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Grace Memorial Episcopal Church (Report). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
4. "Explore Individual Parochial Report Trends". General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
5. Paprock, John-Brian; Teresa Peneguy Paprock (2004). Sacred Sites of Minnesota. Black Earth, Wis.: Trails Books. p. 58. ISBN   1-931599-26-2.

External links

• Media related to Grace Memorial Episcopal Church at Wikimedia Commons