Austin Methodist Church - Austin, Nevada - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Austin Methodist Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 2003. The following information comes from National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (visit link)
Austin Methodist Church, built in 1866, is one of Nevada's oldest surviving Methodist churches. The southwest-facing church stands on a man-made bench overlooking the town's commercial district. It is a one-story nave-form building of American-bond brick construction with a standing-seam metal front-gable roof, a corner bell tower with Italianate-style details, a front entry vestibule, and a small rear wing. The interior, remodeled in the early 1980s, features a nave with a raised stage. The brick edifice was built during the pastorate of J. L. Trefren, who conceived an enterprising approach to construction financing. Trefren organized the New England & Nevada Silver Mining Company and sold stock based on the potential earnings of Austin's silver claims. The church was built and a fine organ was purchased (possibly the first church organ in Nevada) before the scheme collapsed. Mechanical engineer Daniel P. Bell served as supervising architect for the building, which was apparently designed by a California architect, and Bell may have been responsible for the building's innovative form.
Among the last church-related functions to occur in the building was a wedding held in 1935. By the early 1940s the church was abandoned. On May 4, 1951 the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the Methodist Church transferred the property to the Lander County Civic and Historical Society. In 1982 the building was rehabilitated with structural work, a new roof and floors, and electrical and heating upgrades.
Today, the building, one of Austin's trio of nineteenth-century churches, serves as the town hall.

Street address: 135 Court Street Austin, NV USA 89310 County / Borough / Parish: Lander Year listed: 2003 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1850-1874 Historic function: Religion Current function: Government Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/05/2016 Volcanoguy visited it