Courtland Presbyterian Church

Courtland Presbyterian Church. , One of Alabama's earliest Presbyterian congregations, this church was founded in September 1821 by the Reverend John Allen as "The Church of Nazareth". In 1833 it was renamed Courtland Presbyterian Church. The first meeting house, just west of today's church on the site of the existing manse, burned in the 1850s. Construction of the present edifice began about 1859 but was not completed until 1868 because of the Civil War. The bricks were made at the nearby Daniel Gilchrist plantation. the church was extensively refurbished following a serious fire in 1957. (Over), Architecturally this church represents the mingling of classical and Italianate influences common in the late 1850s. The interior follows a plan popular among many Protestant congregations of the tie in placing the main sanctuary on the second floor, with meeting and Sunday school rooms below. The original stained glass windows, of which all but two were destroyed by fire in 1957, reputedly came from Italy. A melodeon, then later a pipe organ, provided early musical accompaniment for congregational singing. (Over)