St. Denis Catholic Church
Description and history
The St. Denis Church complex stands in a rural setting, at a bend in SR 126 west of North Whitefield, just east of its junction with Cooper Road. The complex includes two buildings, both of brick: the church itself, located on the south side of the road, and the parish hall, on the north side. The church is a single-story structure, with a gabled roof and a square tower attached to the left side. The front facade is three bays wide, articulated by pilasters, with entrances set below square gallery-level windows. The tower is built in the Italian campanile style, with corner pilasters rises to clock stage and then an open belfry with paired round-arch openings on each side. It is topped by a flat roof. The church interior is decorated in an early version of the Gothic Revival.
The parish was established in 1818 as "St. Dennis" parish, and originally met in a wood-frame structure built on this site. Between 1833 and 1838, the main portion of the present brick building was built around that building. The parish was renamed with a single "n" in 1850. The tower was added in 1861, and the stained glass windows also date from later in the 19th century. The parish hall was built in 1871. The church underwent a major restoration in 1997.
On July 1, 2007, the parish of St. Denis was canonically merged with St. Mary of the Assumption in Augusta, St. Augustine in Augusta, St. Andrew in Augusta, and St. Joseph in Gardiner to form St. Michael Catholic Parish, serving all of central Maine.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Frank Beard (1976). "NRHP nomination for St. Denis Catholic Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-07-01. with photos from 1976
- ^ "About St. Michael Parish", Parish website, St. Michael Parish, retrieved 2020-11-30