When I ran across a commemorative plate in a second hand store recently, I noticed that it showed two versions of the same church building.  I found a third, and more recent, version in a photograph online.  The three images nicely show the evolution of a simple structure over the course of a century.  The contemporary photo contains signs indicating that the church was chartered and established in 1882.  I would guess that it took a few years before the congregation was able to build the current structure, so it probably dates to around 1890 or so.  As initially built, the church appears to have been a relatively simple single-room structure.  The roof was likely wood shingled and sported a chimney and diminutive bell tower.  A small sign of some sort was centered in the front gable; double doors with a wide transom were beneath it.

Time passed.  Without research or a site visit it is difficult to know the exact chronological order of the changes, but it appears that many of the changes took place in the mid-20th century.  A few of them, such as the small additions to the front and rear, may have been a bit earlier.  The photograph shows a second rear addition which is not shown on the plate – did the artist leave it off or work from an older photograph which did not show it?  The exposed rafter tails of both additions make them appear to pre-date the 1982 commemoration… such a detail was most common between 1915 and 1940.   The front vestibule does not share that detail; its eaves match those of the main roof.  The chimney had vanished, possibly at the same time the bell tower was removed.

The bell was given a decorative role as a ground-level display near the entry.  Judging by the concrete block used in the platform which supports the bell, I would venture to guess that the bell tower was removed in the 1950’s or ’60’s.  That date would also work well for the installation of aluminum siding and the “modern” entry doors of the vestibule.  The sign in the gable was removed or covered with aluminum, but a loudspeaker was gained in its place as seen in the photo, along with an electric meter.  The plate shows a lamp under the roof peak of each front gable.  The most recent change appears to be a corrugated metal roof over all four sections.

This commemorative plate shows the same rural church “then” and “now”… a more recent photo (below) shows more changes.

A century of cumulative changes.