Church of the Holy Communion (St. Peter, Minnesota)

The Church of the Holy Communion is an historic stone Episcopal church building located at 116 North Minnesota Avenue St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. Designed by noted ecclesiastical architect Henry Martyn Congdon of New York City in the Gothic Revival style of architecture, it was built in 1869 of Kasota limestone. It features buttresses and a steeply sloping gabled roof with smaller gabled eye-windows on each slope of the roof. On May 19, 1983, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

Church of the Holy Communion
Church of the Holy Communion from the east
Location116 N. Minnesota Ave., St. Peter, Minnesota
Coordinates44°19′36″N 93°57′19″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1869
ArchitectHenry Martyn Congdon
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.83000914[1]
Added to NRHPMay 19, 1983

History

The first Episcopal service in St. Peter was held on October 27, 1854 at the home of St. Peter's founder Captain William Bigelow Dodd and his wife Harriet. Bishop Jackson Kemper officiated at the service which was attended by 37 people. Mrs. Dodd was instrumental in inviting Bishop Kemper to St. Peter. A parish was soon established and the first church a wood-frame structure was built in 1855 near where the current stone church stands. The Rev. Ezra Jones was the first rector of the congregation, he was succeeded by Rev. Edward Livermore who was rector at the time the current church was constructed. The bell from the first church was placed in the tower of the new church and has rung on the death of every American president since Abraham Lincoln. The bodies of Captain Dodd, his wife Harriet, and two of their children—Willis Gorman Dodd and Harriet Virginia Dodd—lie buried in a grave behind the present church.

Current status

The church is still an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota. Its current rector is the Rev. Tom Harries.[3]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Church of the Holy Communion: About us Archived 2011-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Church of the Holy Communion: Contacts Archived 2011-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
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