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by Robyn Syme
Reporter
The Spring City church is a true work of art inside and out and is a must-see location for anyone visiting NS. Construction on the Spring City church is believed to have been started sometime between 1898 and 1902, it was dedicated in 1914 and the church welcome sign reads 1909. This arduous project is thought, according to church records, to have been started by Bishop James A. Allred.
It was built out of oolite limestone from a local quarry west of the town, and pine wood from the mountain. The stone was cut into blocks at the quarry, then transported to the building location where local Scandinavian stonemasons would work the stone. In addition, the inside of the church contains a hand-carved staircase, custom benches, and, until a few years ago, a beautifully hand-crafted wooden floor, also crafted by locals.
The building cost $40,000 to build, $6,000 of which was donated by the church. The remaining $34,000 was donated by locals either through labor or money. They also held weekly fundraisers such as week-long carnivals and bazaars that included children’s dances, folk dances, drama club presentations and actions. Stands and booths containing chocolate, lunches, pies, cakes and 300 quarts of ice creams were available for sale.
The Church has a Gothic theme on the inside and out. The windows on the side of the chapel have a tall and skinny style. On the inside, a pulpit with a pair of hand-sanded sliding doors that open an additional part of the church that was not part of the original design. East of the church’s pulpit is an auditorium. The whole building is full of beautiful and detailed woodwork. From the hand-crafted wooden floor to the vaulted and beamed ceiling, the whole building is a true work of art.
The church’s T-shaped chapel has a square-shaped entrance beneath an octagonal tower. The tower, to most people’s surprise, does not contain a bell. This is due to the fact that at the time of its assembly, a nearby school already had a bell. The first worship meeting in the building with 211 people present, was held on April 30, 1911.
During 1976 and 1978, an additional section was added to the church. Bishop Orsal Allred made this project possible after convincing the city not to build a new church. The town had to pay for all of it and do all the work due to the agreement that Bishop Allred made. It was constructed out of the same stone to match the building. This time however they had to send the stone to Salt Lake to be carved because none of the locals had the stone masoning skills that they used to.
The day they dug the foundation no problems were visible. When they came back in the morning, the foundation was flooded due to underground springs. This caused some stress but after a lot of hard work, they were able to drain the pool. In total, the project cost more than $400,000. The Spring City church has been standing for more than one hundred years and will continue to stand for years to come.
