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Old St. Stephen's Church

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Old St. Stephen's Church was built in 1881 as the first home for the congregation of St. Stephen's Episcopal parish. The congregation of 45 communicants held their first services in their new church on Palm Sunday in April 1882. The building was painted white in 1915, and the Main Street landmark became known as "the Little White Church." Over the years the congregation expanded, a parish hall was erected to the east of the building and later a classroom/office building was built on the south side. By the late 1960s, the congregation numbered more than 300 and the sanctuary built to serve 100 had become woefully inadequate. In 1971 the church was sold and the congregation moved to a new, more spacious home on Bross Street in Longmont's Southmoor Park neighborhood. A five-year, community campaign to save the historic little church led to the purchase of the property by the St. Vrain Historical Society in 1976. The church has since been restored; stained glass windows replicated and installed; and the exterior returned to its original red brick. Designated a local historic landmark and also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Old St. Stephen's continues to be owned and maintained by the Historical Society. For more information, contact the St. Vrain Historical Society at 303-776-1870 or by email at office@stvrainhistory.org.

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