The Somerset reporter., 1890-02-13

This church was organized May ~,
1887, with seventy members. Public
worship was first held In Grand Army
Hail. Sunday, June IL. This service was
conducted by Rev. c. V. Hanson, who is
now pastor of the church. Grow
ing numbers soon emphasized the need of
permanent church home. The move
ment for the erection of house of wor-
ship took definite form on Sept. 8, 1883,
by the purchase of the eligible ute on the
corner of Madison and Pleasant streets,
of Mrs. Ann II. Jacobs. The two dwell
ings on the lot were removed in the
winter after the purchase, and the Forks
stable in the following spring. Stevens
and Cobb, the well-known architects of
Portland, furnished the plans, and work
was begun in 1889 as early as the season
would permit. Much work was necessary
to prepare the lot for the foundation
This was done largely by Frank l. Estes.
Levi Bushy and Son, of Waterville, Sc
cured the contract for the foundation and
rubble-wall at $5.25 per cubic yard. j.
and j Philbrook, of Lisbon Falls, Sc
cured the contract for the house proper
! for $S,9i2. Both of these firms are
favorably and widely known In the State.
| The foundation, however, which is of
Dodlin granite, was laid by our towns
man Noah Reed, and does credit both to
his skill and thoroughness. The rubble-
wall, which is from the Webb quarry in
Wateryille, was laid by the contractors,
and is justly regarded as an excellent
specimen of this kind Of work. The wall
is six feet high above the grade line
| around the main auditorium, and seven
feet high around the rest of the house,
The extreme length of the building is II
| feet, and the extreme width, exclusive of
the carriage porch, 70 feet. The longer
axis Of the house runs parallel with Mad
son, aud the shorter with Pleasant street.
| While the main architectural effect is on
Madison street, every side of the building
has some special excellence. The prin CT
| pal entrance is on Madison street near
Pleasant. This will be noticed just at the
| right of the tower. As you pass into this
porch there are two doorways, one direct
| ly in front, and the other on the left, the
last opening into the tower. Passing
through the first named, there is door to
the right which opens into the Library, a
pleasant room 17xl2. Straight ahead is
the door to the chapel, and little to the
left one entrance by fly doors into the
auditorium. The chapel is a very at
tractive part of the house. 1t is 4Ox32
and very high studded. A pleasant fea-
ture of this room is the bay or pentagon,
which can be seen at the extreme right of
the cut. There are ten long windows in
this bay, and the effect is quite pleasing
There will he sittings for lbs in this
chapel, but it can easily accommodate a
larger number. The parlor opens into
the chapel on the west side by four doors.
These doors slide into the partition so
that the two rooms can be used as one
whenever occasion may require. This
room is 22xlG, and will be the home of
the scholars in the Primary department
of the Sabbath School. On the west side
is an entrance reached from Pleasant
street. Here also is the carriage porch, a
tasteful and convenient annex, which
shelters from storms those that come or
go by teams. In the west vestibule are
doors leading into the parlor, the chapel,
the auditorium, and the stairway to the
basement. Now we come to the main
audience room. This is 64x42 and is
largely on the left of the tower. The
reader can easily notice in the cut the
semi-circular windows in this room. The
extreme height is SO it., In. The three
trusses and the truss rafters, which are
of southern pine, are all In view and sug-
gest massive strength. They are heavily
strapped and bolted with iron, which is
painted black. AS you look towards the
pulpit, the organ loft Is on the right.
The effect here is light and graceful. On
the left is the pastors room, as cosey and
snug place as any minister could desire.
An imposing arch meets the eye in the