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Union Presbyterian Church (Fort Madison, Iowa)

Fort Madison, IowaPresbyterian churches in Iowa
Union Presbyterian Church exterior
Union Presbyterian Church exterior

Union Presbyterian Church in Fort Madison, Iowa, is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is a part of the Presbytery of East Iowa, which is part of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. Union Presbyterian Church is designated as a Presbyterian Historic Site by the Presbyterian Historical Society. The identity statement, according to the church's website, is "An Open, Caring, Compassionate Community of Faith." The current pastor is the Rev'd John Allen T. Bankson. On March 26, 1838, less than two years after the founding of the city of Fort Madison by Gen. John Holly Knapp and his cousin, Nathaniel Rundell Knapp, the Rev. James Augustus Clark was sent by the American Home Missionary Society to organize a Presbyterian church. Clark would become the church's first pastor. The Fort Madison Presbyterian Church (as it was then known) was the second Presbyterian congregation to be founded in Iowa, after the West Point Presbyterian Church in nearby West Point, Iowa. The founding of the church was near the beginning of the Old School-New School Controversy in the Presbyterian Church, and the fledgling Fort Madison congregation split into two groups in 1840, only two years after being organized. Rev. J.A. Clark and a portion of the members joined the New School, and the remaining members joined the Old School. The two resulting congregations remained separate for twenty years. On January 2, 1860, the Old School and New School congregations merged, adopting the name Union Presbyterian Church. One of the most significant pastors in the church's history was Rev. Dr. George D. Stewart (1824–1910), who served the church from 1877 until his retirement in 1904. In 1885, under Dr. Stewart's leadership, the congregation built the brick structure at 7th Street and Avenue F in Fort Madison where it still worships to this day.

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Union Presbyterian Church (Fort Madison, Iowa)
Avenue F,

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Latitude Longitude
N 40.6322 ° E -91.3106 °
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United Presbyterian Church

Avenue F
52627
Iowa, United States
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Union Presbyterian Church exterior
Union Presbyterian Church exterior
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Park-to-Park Residential Historic District
Park-to-Park Residential Historic District

The Park-to-Park Residential Historic District in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The historic district is located to the north of the Downtown Commercial Historic District, generally between Central Park on the west and Old Settler's Park on the east. Both parks are contributing sites. For the most part the district is made up of single family homes built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these homes were built as rental properties, while others became so in later years. The Albright House and the Chief Justice Joseph M. Beck House are contributing properties, and they are also individually listed on the National Register. There are also duplexes and a few small scale apartment buildings in the district. The Historic Park to Park District is a seven-block-long, three block wide section of homes that represent the Gothic, Victorian, and Tudor era. With a rich variety of architectural styles like Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Eastlake Stick, Richardson Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Tudor. With two of the six parks within the District. Given its location adjacent to the central business district there are no historic commercial buildings located in its boundaries. Institutions in the district include buildings erected by local governments and churches. The Lee County Courthouse (1842) and jail (c. 1850) are located across the street from the downtown area. A combination building houses the Fort Madison City Hall and a fire station (1873). The former St. Joseph's Catholic Church complex (various buildings from the 1850s to the 1920s) is located near Old Settler's Park, while St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church (1871), rectory (1876) and convent (1911) are located just west of Central Park. First United Methodist Church is associated with two sets of buildings in the district. Its original church built in 1888 now houses Joy Baptist Church. Their present church building was built in 1923. The present First Christian Church (1958) replaced an earlier church (1903) on the same property. Other denominations are represented by Union Presbyterian Church (1885) and Parsonage (c. 1890), St. John's Evangelical Church (1864) and Parsonage (1893), and St. Luke's Episcopal Church that was built as Hope Episcopal in 1857.

Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District
Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District

The Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District has a collection of late-19th century store fronts centered on Ave. G, from 6th to 9th Street, and Ave. H from 7th to 9th, in Fort Madison, Iowa. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.The Mississippi River at Fort Madison flows from east to west. The city's downtown is on the east side of town north of the river. It includes the original part of the city, and the rest of the city grew to the west. The central business district is surrounded by residential neighborhoods with the Park-to-Park Residential Historic District to the north. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Passenger and Freight Complex Historic District is to the southwest closer to the river. Avenue H, historically Front Street, faces the river and was developed first. Buildings were only constructed on the north side of the street, and it still has its older, 19th-century buildings. Avenue G, historically 2nd Street, was developed as the main business street from the late 19th and into the early 20th century. From east to west, development occurred between Sixth and Eighth Streets. By the 20th century, commercial buildings were built to Ninth Street and beyond. At the time of its nomination the historic district had a total of 105 buildings, with 91 being contributing properties and 14 non-contributing. Most of the buildings (72) are two-story structures, with another 18 one-story buildings, and 15 three-story buildings. The predominant architectural styles are Federal, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, and Romanesque Revival. Most of the buildings house commercial enterprises, and the Cattermole Memorial Library, which is individually listed on the National Register, is included as a contributing property.

George E. Schlapp House
George E. Schlapp House

The George E. Schlapp House is a historic residence located in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. George E. Schlapp was born in 1839 in what is now Germany. He immigrated with his family to the United States when he was twelve years old, and they had settled in Lee County, Iowa by 1853. Schlapp started working in the brewing business by 1858. He built his own brewery on Front Street, now Avenue H, in 1866. His brother Henry joined him in 1871, and the brewery became known as George Schlapp and Brother. George Schlapp was also involved in banking, the development of the Fort Madison Western Narrow Gauge Railroad, and as a stock broker. He married Mary Dupuis in 1863 and they had six children. The exact date this house was built is unknown, but it is thought to have been built in the early 1870s. George Schlapp lived here until he died in 1912, and the house remained in the family until 1968.The house is considered to be the best example of Italianate architecture in Fort Madison. The 2½-story, brick house sits on a bluff overlooking the city and the Mississippi River below. The rectangular main block is almost square, and it has a smaller, two-story wing in the back. It is capped with a hipped roof that is pierced by four symmetrically spaced interior brick chimneys with corbelled caps. The cornice that surrounds the house features elaborately carved, paired wooden brackets and dentils under the eaves. At the top of the main facade is a triangular pediment with a single round arch window. There is a flat area on top of the roof that suggests a widow's walk, but there is no evidence that it was ever built.

Moyce–Steffens House
Moyce–Steffens House

The Moyce–Steffens House, also known as the French Creek House, is a historic residence located in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The house is named for the first two owners of the house, who also substantially built it. John Moyce was a stonemason, originally from Scotland. He built the original section of the house in 1844. It was a single room dwelling that was typical of the vernacular architecture built in frontier Iowa. It is noteworthy for its finely-hewn stone cellar walls. Moyce moved to Illinois in 1848 and the house was bought by Hermann Steffens. He was a carpenter's laborer who added a single room to the northeast corner of the house. It shows the advancement in building techniques by the use of milled studs instead of the pit-sawn and hewn studs, and the absence of brace framing that are found in the original section of the house.Steffens died in 1882, and his widow Anna continued to live in the house until her death in 1904. During this time the western two rooms were added to the structure. It is possible this created a duplex as both the eastern and western sections of the house have their own front and rear entrances. This section, completed about 1892, shows further advancement in 19th-century building techniques. It utilizes balloon framing, and the brick nogging utilized in the earlier two sections is absent. The Tuscan columns found on the front porch are typical of the Colonial Revival style and replaced the original square posts with chamfered edges around 1910. Three of them were located in the cellar supporting a sagging foundation sill plate.