Essex
Community
Church
Circa 1855
The
community church is the most tangible symbol of
Essex’s high expectations in the mid
nineteenth century after fifty years of prosperity and steady growth.
The building is a well preserved example of the Italianate style and
display especially fine stonework. The wall are made up of randomly
sized stones, carefully laid, while large stone blocks frame the tall
round-arched window and door openings. The stonemasons carved each of
the large blocks with smooth corners and rough faces in a traditional
manner called “rustication”.
The building is outlined at each corner with rusticated quoins.
The main entrance is through the prominent three story belltower, which
projects slightly from the main façade and contains in its upper stories
an elaborate nineteenth-century clockworks that still powers the three
faces and chimes of the “community clock”.
After 152
years the ceiling of the church began to fail.
Largely from people actually walking on the lath from above when
updating the electrical system and adding insulation. The vibration of
the ceiling fans added fifteen years earlier also contributed to the
problem. Not to mention several minor earthquakes. Eventually a fairly
substantial piece of the ceiling actually fell narrowly missing a very
elaborate pipe organ, causing the church to close. The following series
of photos shows the replacement of the ceiling.
Day by day.
