First Congregational Church (Lake Linden, Michigan)

Detail of side of church

The First Congregational Church is a spectacular example of Victorian stick architecture.[3] The church is a rectangular asymmetrically-massed front gable structure atop a foundation of mine rock[3] with a square tower and belfry in the front.[2][3] The exterior features dramatic woodwork styling, with fishscale and flat-edged shingles[2] made of pine and separated into sections by stickwork.[3] The gable over the entrance and the tower sides are constructed with diagonal siding; focal points there and on the sides of the church are sided in herringbone and pinwheel shapes, fremed with more stickwork and carved floral rosettes.[3] The church has an open front porch with contrasting turned railings.[2]

The interior includes the pastor's office, kitchen, and meetinghall.[4] The meetinghall has wainscoted walls, a hardwood ceiling, and more intricate stickwork;[2] there are only minor alterations from the original construction.[4] A Garret House Pipe Organ, built in 1874 for the First Congregational Church of Calumet,[5] is also installed. The organ was believed to be the oldest tracker-style pipe organ in Michigan, however a search of the Organ Historical Society database reveals several original and relocated tracker-action pipe organs pre-dating the Garret House.[6]

The First Congregational Church founded in 1882 by a small group of Scottish residents, headed by Allen McIntyre,[3] which included a number of prominent businessmen and employees of the local Calumet and Hecla Mining Company.[2] It soon became apparent that the congregation would need its own church, and a building committee was formed in 1886.[2] The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company donated land,[5] and the committee procured architectural drawings from Holabird and Roche, using them to build the church for an original cost of $8325.[2] The building was dedicated in February 1887, three months before a devastating fire swept through Lake Linden; the church was one of the few frame buildings in the area to escape damage.[2][3]

The church continued to be in use until the 1980s, when the congregation dwindled to the point where they were not large enough to maintain the building.[2] The church was deeded to the Houghton County Historical Society, which has continued to use and maintain it[2] as the Houghton County Heritage Center.[5] Limited restoration has been ongoing since 1993; the restoration included repainting the church in the original colors.[5]

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• Houghton County Heritage Center