The Methodist Episcopal Church in Swanton, Vermont is significant under Criterion C for embodying the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, specifically a Queen Anne style church built of brick in 1895. The outstanding features of the church - including the asymmetrical massing of the front facade elements, the fenestration; particularly the Roman arches above doors and second floor window openings, the highly ornate stained glass in second floor and stairwell windows , interior woodwork and pews - exemplify the Victorian style as it generally appears in Vermont. The church reflects well on a sector of the industrial economic climate of Swanton, at the time of its construction as is evidenced by the use of locally quarried marble in its foundation and pulpit. A testament to the success and endurance of the Methodist congregation in Swanton, Vermont, the church has provided a place of worship exceeding one hundred years. This property which maintains its integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association, clearly meets the registration requirements for the church property type under the Multiple Property Submission "Religious Buildings, Sites and Structures in Vermont." It also meets criteria consideration A because of its architectural importance.

The Memorial United Methodist Church was built in 1895, in Swanton, Vermont. By way of its construction date it is a unique contributing factor to the existing fabric of Swanton's historic buildings. The building is an ecclesiastical expression of late nineteenth century American architecture shared by no other religious structure in Swanton. The massing and asymmetrical fenestration of the front facade, the architectural elements, and historic photos all serve to best describe the church as Queen Anne style. The eclecticism of this church marks a high point and end to the Victorian era of American architecture. The church also serves as one of the prominent architectural symbols to the town's past due to its location on the town green where buildings of relatively similar age and visual character are located. The church may also be seen as a physical artifact, lending testimony to Methodism's development and evolution in Swanton, as a Christian denomination.

The late nineteenth century church exhibits a high degree of integrity in its materials, construction and craftsmanship. Most of the church's wood elements and details are irreplaceable due to the lack of availability and high cost of old growth timber today. Examples of its use in the church are: heavy timber framing, interior wood trim, wainscoting and double hung sash windows. A high degree of craftsmanship in the fashioning and installation of these materials and many others (such as the highly ornate stained glass windows) can be seen throughout the church. The skills and artistry exhibited in the construction of this church are not widely practiced or employed today in commercial and residential building. This is attributable to the contemporary methods, materials and practice of today's modern construction. Some of the materials that were used in the church are of local and regional origin, such as the marble used in the foundation and pulpit. This knowledge is supported primarily by an oral history from present congregation members as there are no church records known to exist that attest to these facts. However, historical written documentation as to the prevailing industrial economy of Swanton and the surrounding region of Vermont supports this oral history and can further lead to the certain speculation regarding the origin of other materials used in the construction of the church, such as the slate and lumber. The church meets national register criterion C in the area of architectural significance. The church is also part of a multiple property submission, "Religious sites, buildings and structures in Vermont" under the property type "church" and clearly meets the registration requirements.

Historical Background Elisha Barney, who was a known organizer and supporter of the Methodist movement in Swanton, settled in the area in 1799. He was originally from Taunton, Massachusetts. He and his brother Rufus (who resided in Rutland, Vermont) established mill privileges and commenced iron production in Swanton early in the nineteenth century.

The first circuit rider to preach in the Swanton area was Reverend Ruben Harris, a Methodist. In 1806 he made an appointment to have a service in the Swanton Falls schoolhouse on the west side of the Missisquoi River. Services continued to be conducted in the schoolhouse by Reverend Harris for several years thereafter. The population of Swanton Falls steadily increased in the early nineteenth century and by 1815 was known to have been about 1,600 people. In 1815 Reverend Almond Dunbar organized the Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was located in a woodshed of a large building belonging to Elisha Barney. On May 16, 1816, Elisha Barney along with his wife and several other local people are noted to have been some of the founding members of this organization. In the summer of 1819, the church had its First Quarterly Conference in the Barney's building. The Reverend J. B. Statton was the presiding elder at this time.

In 1822, the four Christian denominations of Swanton agreed to build a public house of worship in which each denomination ( Congregational, Methodist, Episcopalian, and the Society of Friends) would share pulpit rights. The ensuing structure that was built is the present day New Wine Christian Fellowship on the south end of the Swanton green. The pulpit rights of the Episcopalians were purchased by the Congregational Society on October 14, 1827. During the 1840's the Universalists felt they had pulpit rights in the brick church and subsequently displaced the Methodists, whose pulpit rights were eventually transferred on November 12, 1867. This conflict led lay leader and founder Elisha Barney to organize and erect a house of worship exclusive to the Methodists. In 1847 construction commenced on the present site of the Memorial United Methodist Church at 25 Grand Avenue. The first church was completed the following year and its title was the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was worshipped in for the next twenty years, and during this period the population of Swanton expanded from 850 in 1810 to 2,866 in 1870. An increase in members of the church during this period made it necessary to enlarge and improve the first Methodist Church. This was done by the Reverend H. F. Austin in 1867. In the following years a strong program of evangelism brought new members to the church, and with this growth it was deemed necessary to build a larger house of worship. Consequently, the 1848 Methodist church was torn down and a new one erected on the same site in 1886. In 1895 a fire began in the Central House Hotel south of the church. The hotel burned to the ground. Fearing that the church would also catch fire, people removed from the church sanctuary the memorial stained glass windows as well as the pulpit and pews. All ten of the north and south side facade windows were saved, but the larger one in the front of the church was destroyed by fire. The rebuilding of the badly burned church, using the same design, began immediately after this tragic fire and construction was completed the same year. The milling of regionally quarried marble for finished products, primarily architectural elements, was a prominent part of the Swanton economy in the nineteenth century. At one time in the latter half of the nineteenth century there were six marble mills operating in Swanton. George Barney, the son of Elisha Barney and member of the church, built and ran the Barney Marble Mill, which was located on the Missisquoi River in Swanton from 1850 to circa 1900, at which time the Vermont Marble Company assumed ownership of this mill. In the 1850's the Barney Marble Mill was the leading manufacture of marble in Swanton. George Barney started selling black marble products in the early 1850's to many principal cities in the United States. This black marble was used to construct the foundation for the Memorial United Methodist Church and was most likely taken from the Clark Quarry in Isle La Motte or from a quarry just north of the Canadian border, as these were the two locations known to have been producing this stone at the time of the church's construction. It is unknown however, whether this marble dates from the original 1886 structure or was installed in the 1895 reconstruction. In 1870 red stone marble or "Swanton Marble" was discovered at the present day location of U.S. Route 7 and Interstate 89 one half mile south of Swanton. This red marble was used for inlay in the church pulpit. The present church was freed from debt and dedicated in 1906.

In 1912 during the period of Reverend O. E. Aiken's ministry the Hinners organ was purchased and installed. The Hinners Organ Company was established circa 1881 and was located in Pekin, Illinois, providing small organs that were produced from standardized patterns. Being a mass produced unit, the company could reduce costs to consumers, thus making it possible for congregations of lesser means to afford a well built organ. John Hinners (1846-1906), used mail order catalogs to advertise and sell his organs. All organs were shipped factory direct and set up on site by a factory representative. Before 1920 all metal pipes in Hinners organs were products of Anton Gottfried in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Hinners Organ Company reached its greatest success in 1921 under the leadership of John Hinners' son Arthur who took control of the company after his father's death. The business failed in 1936 due to the economic climate of the Depression. Major repairs and upgrades were made to the Methodist Episcopal Church's Hinners Organ in 1979. In 1939, the name of the church was changed from the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Methodist Church. This was the result of a national merger amongst the denominations known as the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Protestant Church. In 1959 the construction of the Barney Annex was undertaken. This eight room addition replaced the horse stalls and stable located to the rear of the brick structure. The Reverend Roland Kelly and some of the church trustees supervised this project. The addition was built at a cost of $23,000 and furnished for $7,000. This sum was paid off in 1966, the same year Methodism celebrated its 150th anniversary in Vermont. In 1968, the church changed its name as the denomination underwent its second merger in less than thirty years. The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren formed the United Methodist Church. According to a source in the present day congregation the name "Memorial" was added to the title of the church in the 1980's due in part to an anniversary the congregation wished to commemorate. In the early 1990's the Troy Conference, the district governing board for Methodist churches in the upper New York State and Vermont area separated the Memorial United Methodist Church from its sister church in Highgate Center. The Green Mountain Conference is now the governing board for Methodist churches in Vermont. Over the last 200 years, Swanton has undergone many changes both socially and economically, but the Memorial United Methodist Church has remained an integral part of the community.

Bibliography

Ledoux, Rodney R., Editor. The History of Swanton, Vermont. Swanton, Vermont: Swanton Historical Society, 1988.

Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. "Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey, Swanton." On file, VDHP office, Montpelier, Vermont.

Ochse, Orpha. "The History of the Organ in the United States." Bloomington & London: Indiana University Press. 1975

Verbal Boundary Description

The nominated church property being located on the northerly side of First Street in the Town of Swanton, County Franklin, Vermont. The property is a small rectangular strip