Yesterday afternoon my wife and I drove over to St. John's Chapel in the Green Springs Historic District. The church was built in 1888 and looks today much as it would have looked in the 19th century. There are no modern additions, no plumbing and no electricity. The interior is heated by a wood stove and lit by candles.
As we were walking around the grounds, a man and his small son stopped, unlocked the door and went inside to load the stove with kindling and wood, ready to warm today's Christmas candle light service. He invited us inside to see the interior of this remarkable building.
We sat for a moment on a simple wooden pew, and visited an earlier time. It was late afternoon and the air was cold both inside and out. There were no Christmas decorations in sight, but I couldn't help but feel a touch of Christmas spirit inside this simple and austere chapel.
Gotta admire the courage! Candelabras amongst all that wood. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're right about that. Fire was a very common fate for wooden buildings and many historic structures have been lost to fire, not to mention countless documents and records. It is fortunate indeed that buildings like this survive.
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