How wonderful it is to see St Paul’s Episcopal Church decorated for Christmas and those amazing stained-glass windows shining brightly. A bonus is the series of carols which are filling Shilling Street with music each evening.

Blackfoot’s remarkable Episcopal Church was the first church founded in Blackfoot. It held its first worship service Nov. 28, 1880, which included the baptism of Eva Wineford Rogers, whose parents were Walter and Caroline Rogers of 191 North Shilling, but it took the members 12 years to build a church building. Services were held in homes and public buildings until Mrs. Holbrook donated four lots on the corner of North Shilling and East Pacific. Construction took place during 1891-1892, finishing in May. St Paul’s is the only one of the three churches built in the 1800s to remain standing and still used for worship. This church was unnamed in the first few years, then officially named Mission of the Holy Innocents, before the final name change to St. Paul’s, at the time of the dedication of the building in 1892. Also in 1880, the congregation of 22 families founded a small school. There were only seven children in the beginning. This was almost four years before a Blackfoot school system was put in place.

Mr. A.D. Quantrell is listed by one source as the contractor for the building, and Mr. R.H. Hopkins by another. Mr. Quantrell owned the lumber yard, which could easily have provided the 2-by-6 quarter-sawn clear cedar used for the roof, along with all the other lumber needed. Mr. Hopkins was known primarily for his fine brickwork. We will leave this as an unsettled issue.

The furnishings in this little church were presented as donations from the members, and many still carry brass plaques with donors’ names engraved. The lovely stained-glass windows were also given as donations through a church-wide program that allows families to dedicate a window to a loved one, and have that window given to a church under construction somewhere in the country. The most well-known of these windows is dedicated “In Memory of Carl Theodore Olsen, killed by Indians near Hiko Nevada, Dec 4th, 1874. Age 21 yrs. 9 mon. 23 days.”

In 1979, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Their description refers to the Gothic Revival style of pointed arch windows and a modest but well-preserved display of carpenter-Gothic trim. “The belfry section (of the steeple) has slatted Gothic windows and a shingled hipped cap. It contains a working bell which is rung by a rope dropped into the nave”. C.W.C. Van Winkle is listed as the architect and notes that a virtually identical church was built in Weiser the same year.

In 2001, nationally known painter Steve Allen of Eureka, California, agreed to strip and repaint both St. Paul’s and the Good Shepherd Mission church in Fort Hall, built in 1904. Steve’s painting company in California specialized in old buildings, particularly those with Victorian architecture. He loved the old detailing and had the patience for all the prep work and hand-painting needed for these jobs. Buildings that Steve restored have been featured in national magazines. He brought a van-load of tools to do the two jobs, but could not bring his man-lift. Pro Rentals of Blackfoot generously donated such a machine to get Steve up to the high points of the buildings.

Steve Allen actually lived in Blackfoot in his early years, when his father, the Rev. Charles Allen, served at St. Paul’s until his death in 1976. While here, Steve served as an acolyte in the church and graduated from Blackfoot High School. He has now returned to make his home in Blackfoot.

At the time of that repainting event, the church was surrounded by many tall spruce trees, but a freak microburst on a Sunday morning in 2006 destroyed all but one of the trees. The Bingham County Historical Society Archive has seven dramatic photos of the devastation. Only the hand of God himself saved this little church that day, as the huge trees fell on all sides of the building, but none touched the structure. Someone brought a chainsaw to cut a passage through so worshippers could enter the church that Sunday. The wooden cross that sits beside the front door is made from the wood of one of these trees.

Please plan to stop by St. Paul’s this week to view the Christmas decorating and say welcome to the new pastor, Peninah Mungai, recently arrived from Kenya. If you love old buildings, this will be a memorable visit.