Magalia Community Church

Last updated
Magalia Community Church
Magalia Community Church (2024)-L1004302.jpg
Magalia Community Church (2024)
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationStirling Hwy., Magalia, California
Coordinates 39°48′36″N121°34′40″W / 39.81000°N 121.57778°W / 39.81000; -121.57778
Area0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built1904 (1904)
Built byAlbert Samuel Parsons (original)
Carrie Brydon (1904 reconstruction)
NRHP reference No. 82002172 [1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 11, 1982

Magalia Community Church is a historic church located on Stirling Highway in Magalia, California. Construction of the church began in 1850 but was left incomplete. This first phase of construction resulted in only the floor and 4 walls. Completion of the church was not accomplished until 1904. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [2]

Contents

History

It is estimated that around the year 1850, a Christian minister by the name of Albert Samuel Parsons came from Cherokee, California (Butte County, California) and started building a church. It is uncertain why he eventually abandoned the project, but he left the structure incomplete, only leaving a structure with a foundation, a floor and four walls (including the windows that exist to this day).

In 1900, the Reverend Albert Parsons moved away from the Magalia area and local interest in the church waned. At this point, the property's owner, Mr. George McLean, asked that the partially completed church be removed from the grounds. Fortuitously, Miss Carrie Brydon, purportedly a staunch supporter of the temperance movement, arrived in Magalia, California from Canada at this time. She came across the partially completed church and was granted permission to have it moved to a location near the intersection of Old Skyway Road and Glover Lane' (Magalia, California).

With the philanthropic assistance of Annie Bidwell (also see Bidwell Mansion) and the local Crew family, she was able to raise $600.00 to have the church dismantled and then rebuilt to the same specifications. With the money raised, they were also able to finish the interior and add a vestibule, a belfry, a steeple and a small kitchen. Sometime later the kitchen area was made part of the church proper to make room for a pulpit, an organ and a piano. It is noted that the bell and organ were purchased by Annie Bidwell at that time for $50.00. The completed building was finally dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1904.

During its history, it appears that the structure was moved three different times but there are varying accounts of the exact locations. Sources indicate that it might at one time have been located close to Whiskey Flat (Paradise East), California(a.k.a. Whiskey Flats), at another location near the juncture of Coutolenc Road and Old Skyway Road, and perhaps also at yet another location in Magalia between Nimshew Road and the Magalia Reservoir.

Church members report that on a rainy day in 1993, the small church made a final precarious journey to its present-day location on Stirling Highway in Magalia, California. The Magalia Community Church was dedicated as a historical site on Aug 21, 1982, and the Magalia community continues to support the ongoing cost of restoring and preserving the chapel. To this day, the original church bell rings out every Sunday morning to signal the start of church services.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise, California</span> Town in California, United States

Paradise is a town in Butte County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 4,764, down from the 26,218 recorded in the 2010 census. On November 8, 2018, a major wildfire, the Camp Fire, destroyed most of Paradise and much of the adjacent communities of Magalia, Butte Creek Canyon, and Concow. After the Camp Fire, the population declined by more than 90%. In January 2019, the state of California reported 4,600 residents, and a door-to-door count in April 2019 found 2,034.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakhurst, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

Oakhurst is a census-designated place (CDP) in Madera County, California, United States, 14 miles (23 km) south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. At an elevation of 5,200–2,274 ft (1,585–693 m), Oakhurst is situated at the junction of Highway 41 and Highway 49, marking the southern end of California's Gold Country. It is part of the Madera metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary Redcliffe</span> Church in Bristol, England

The Church of St Mary the Virgin, widely known as St Mary Redcliffe, is the main Church of England parish church for the Redcliffe district of the city of Bristol, England. The first reference to a church on the site appears in 1158, with the present building dating from 1185 to 1872. The church is considered one of the country's finest and largest parish churches as well as an outstanding example of English Gothic architecture. The church is so large it is sometimes mistaken for Bristol Cathedral by tourists. The building has Grade I listed status, the highest possible category, by Historic England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulaski Skyway</span> Bridge in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States

The Pulaski Skyway is a four-lane bridge-causeway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, carrying an expressway designated U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9) for most of its length. The structure has a total length of 3.502 miles (5.636 km). Its longest bridge spans 550 feet (168 m). Traveling between Newark and Jersey City, the roadway crosses the Passaic and Hackensack rivers, Kearny Point, the peninsula between them, and the New Jersey Meadowlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Country</span> Historic gold-mining region in Northern California

The Gold Country is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park</span> Historic place in Chico, California, United States

Bidwell Mansion, located at 525 Esplanade in Chico, California, was the home of General John Bidwell and Annie Bidwell from late 1868 until 1900, when Gen. Bidwell died. Annie continued to live there until her death in 1918. John Bidwell began construction of the mansion on his 26,000 acres (110 km2) Rancho del Arroyo Chico in 1865, during his courtship of Annie Ellicott Kennedy. After their marriage in 1868, the three-story, 26-room Victorian house became the social and cultural center of the upper Sacramento Valley. Now a museum and State Historic Park, it is California Historical Landmark #329 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The mansion was a $60,000 project, and was finished in May 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bidwell</span> American politician

John Bidwell, known in Spanish as Don Juan Bidwell, was a Californian pioneer, politician, and soldier. Bidwell is known as the founder of the city of Chico, California.

The Butte County Railroad was a 31.5-mile (50.7 km) class II railroad that ran from a connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Chico, California to the Diamond Match Company lumber mill at Stirling City. The railroad operated from 1903–1915 and then became the Southern Pacific's Stirling City Branch. From 1915 until abandonment in the 1970s the line was operated as the Southern Pacific's Stirling City Branch. The Chico and Northern Railroad was a non-operating subsidiary holding company of the Southern Pacific Railroad that was created to acquire a 32.31 mile line from Chico – Stirling City from the Butte County Railroad. Upon acquiring the line, Chico & Northern immediately leased the line back to the Butte County Railroad. The Chico & Northern was dissolved into Southern Pacific in 1912 and never operated any of the line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Peter's Church, Bournemouth</span> Church in Dorset, England

St Peter's Church is a Church of England parish church located in the centre of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. It is a Grade I listed building classed as a 'major parish church', and was completed in 1879 to a design by George Edmund Street as the founding mother church of Bournemouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church, West Dulwich</span> Church in London , England

All Saints' Church is a Church of England parish church in West Dulwich, South London. It is a red brick building designed in a Gothic Revival style by George Fellowes Prynne and built 1888–91. It is Grade I listed.

Crane Hill is an unincorporated community in Cullman County, Alabama, United States, located in the southwestern portion of the county. The community of Crane Hill traces its history back to 1806, when the first settlers recorded their land titles. The area is named after the Sandhill Crane who fished the streams and roosted on a hill located just north of Mt. Zion Road.

Lovelock is an unincorporated community in Butte County, California. It is located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west-southwest of Stirling City and lies at an elevation of 3136 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheatlands (Sevierville, Tennessee)</span> Historic house in Tennessee, United States

Wheatlands is an antebellum plantation in Sevier County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The plantation's surviving structures— which include the plantation house, a storage shed, and smokehouse— have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation house has been called "the best example of a Federal-style building remaining in Sevier County."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Southampton</span> Church in Hampshire, England

Saint Mary's Church, is the civic church for the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England. Originally founded in circa 634, St Mary's has been the mother church of Southampton since its inception. The present building, now the sixth incarnation of a church on this site, dates mostly to a rebuilding from 1954 to 1956, following its destruction in the Southampton Blitz, except for the notable Grade II listed tower and spire, which date from 1912 to 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church Cathedral (Lexington, Kentucky)</span> Church in Kentucky, United States

Christ Church Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington and is located at 166 Market Street, Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1796, Christ Church Cathedral is the oldest Episcopal church in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Renovations over the years have sought to preserve the original structure, and it remains relatively unchanged. The church created what is now called the Old Episcopal Burying Ground, located nearby. It held many who died during the cholera epidemics of 1833 and 1848, but most of the remains have been moved due to flooding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vardy Community School</span> United States historic place

The Vardy Community School was a Presbyterian mission school established in the Vardy community of Hancock County, Tennessee, United States, in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. At the time of its founding, the school was the only institution providing primary education to children of the multi-racial Melungeon communities, who lived in the remote mountainous areas along the Tennessee-Virginia border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makawao Union Church</span> Historic church in Hawaii, United States

Makawao Union Church is a church near Makawao on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It was founded by New England missionary Jonathan Smith Green during the Kingdom of Hawaii. The third historic structure used by the congregation was designed by noted local architect C.W. Dickey and dedicated in 1917 as the Henry Perrine Baldwin Memorial Church. In 1985, Makawao Union Church was placed on the Hawaii and National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, formerly known as Grace Cathedral, is the historic cathedral in the Diocese of Iowa. The cathedral is located on the bluff overlooking Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1873, Trinity is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1983 the cathedral was included as a contributing property in the College Square Historic District, which is also listed on the National Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwayne Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Norwayne Historic District, or Norwayne Subdivision, is an historic residential subdivision, originally built for World War II defense workers. It is located in Westland, Michigan and roughly bounded by Palmer Road on the north, Wildwood Road on the west, Merriman Road on the east, and Glenwood Road and the Wayne County Lower Rouge Parkway on the south. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District No. 1 Schoolhouse (Somerset, Vermont)</span> United States historic place

The District No. 1 Schoolhouse is a historic one-room schoolhouse on Somerset Road in Somerset, Vermont, United States. Built about 1850, it is the only known entirely unaltered district schoolhouse in the state, and is probably the only surviving municipal building from the tiny community, which was disincorporated in 1937. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Magalia Community Church History Provided by the Church Historians to William Collins". 2014-09-13: All.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)