Not long ago, I wrote about the oldest Presbyterian church west of the Mississippi River,
Bellevue Presbyterian Church. Bellevue’s home is a tiny Missouri town called Caledonia, population 158.
Down the Aisle, photo by smalltowngirl
Bellevue remains locked to the public the majority of the time, but I had a special opportunity to see the inside of the church a few weeks ago.
The church, founded in 1816, is very, very simple on the interior. Humble wooden pews line the sanctuary, and simple red carpeting pads the floor beneath your feet.
A piece of the church’s original carpet hangs framed in the narthex (thanks @gregscherer) of the church. Purchased in 1907, 90 yards of carpeting cost the church $63.95.
$63.95, photo by smalltowngirl
The windows at Bellevue are not elaborately stained or colorful. Instead, they are plain, tranparent glass with peeling paint on their wooden frames.
Window, photos by smalltowngirl
One of the things I like the most in the church’s interior was the sanctuary ceiling, pieced together with slats of wood running diagonal at 90 degree angles to the straight edges of the church’s walls.
Ceiling, photo by smalltowngirl
The hour or so that I spent inside the old building left me with an eerie headache and fatigue that the ghost-story-lover in me wanted to believe was caused by the spirits of angstful old Presbyertians, but which I should honestly attribute to allergies. Bellevue has been around for almost two hundred years. That’s a lot of mold and dust.
The Good Book, photo by smalltowngirl
Bellevue Presbyterian Church is located in Caledonia, Missouri. To read more about the church and see photos of its exterior, see my first post about Bellevue.
To read more about Caledonia, check out the following blog posts: Caledonia, Missouri, Smalltowngirl’s Many Hats, and Caledonia, Missouri Pt. II.
For more photos of my adventures in Small Town, Missouri, check out my flickr photostream.
