Historic Places of Worship

Paul D. Buchanan is a social worker, a counselor, an historian, and a freelance writer. He has contributed to a weekly local history column for the The Daily Journal in San Mateo, California.

“unique”—Library Journal; “important...a useful resource”—Public Library Quarterly; “look[s] at 51 places of worship that have influenced society and culture far beyond their immediate location. Individual entries tell the story of each place of worship, giving its background and significance in essays of 2,000 to 4,000 words”—ARBA; “lively style of writing...extensive index.... This volume is unique for reference collections, because no other reference volume published within the past thirty years examines the buildings of America’s religions. It will be important to libraries with collections of religion, architecture, history, and art”—Reference & User Services Quarterly; “provides a photograph, a historical essay, and a description of each church”—Theology Digest.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments     Introduction      The Anasazi Kivas FOUR CORNERS, SOUTHWEST      Pu‘uhonua o Ho -naunau HAWAII      Mission Nombre de Dios FLORIDA      Center Church (Hartford Meeting House) CONNECTICUT      Paha Sapa SOUTH DAKOTA      Holy Trinity (“Old Swedes Church”) DELAWARE      St. Anne’s Shrine VERMONT      Tumacacori Mission and Tubac Presidio ARIZONA      Friends’ Great Meeting House RHODE ISLAND      First Meeting House RHODE ISLAND      Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) TEXAS      Christ Church (The Old North Church) MASSACHUSETTS      St. Louis Cathedral LOUISIANA      First Parish Church MAINE      St. John’s Church VIRGINIA      Prince William’s Parish Church and Sheldon Church SOUTH CAROLINA       Touro Synagogue RHODE ISLAND      Niskayuna NEW YORK      Cane Ridge Meeting House KENTUCKY      Mother Bethel Church PENNSYLVANIA      Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad CALIFORNIA      Mother Seton House MARYLAND      Society of Christian Unitarians PENNSYLVANIA      Harmonie Village INDIANA      St. John’s at Lafayette Square (“Church of the Presidents”) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA      El Santuario de Chimayo NEW MEXICO      St. Michael’s Cathedral ALASKA      Dwight Mission ARKANSAS      Oakland Chapel MISSISSIPPI      Kirtland Temple OHIO      Whitman Mission WASHINGTON      The Great Stone Church of Kawaiahao HAWAII      Wesleyan Chapel NEW YORK      Joss House Temple CALIFORNIA      Old Mission of the Sacred Heart IDAHO      Mission St. Ignatius MONTANA      Wabaunsee First Church of Christ (“Beecher Bible and Rifle Church”) KANSAS      St. Mary’s in the Mountains NEVADA      Bradford Congregational Church (“The Little BrownChurch in the Vale”) IOWA      St. Mark’s Church WYOMING      St. Philomena’s Church HAWAII      Zion Church NEBRASKA      St. Fidelis Church KANSAS      Andrews Church (The International Mother’s Day Shrine) WEST VIRGINIA      Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church KANSAS      Dexter Avenue Church ALABAMA      Bukkyo Seinen Kai CALIFORNIA      Temple of Islam, MICHIGAN      Baha’i House of Worship ILLINOIS      Annunciation Church WISCONSIN      Chapel of Peace, International Peace Garden NORTH DAKOTA–MANITOBA      Index