211
Little Brown Church
In Nashua, Iowa, a little Midwest town of around 1600
residents, there is a Church called
―
The Little Brown Church
in the Vale.
‖
In 1856, William Pitts, a music teacher, was
passing through the area. He saw a vacant lot and dreaming
when returning home, he wrote
Church in the Wildwood
. At
that time Church members were meeting in various places
about town. Rev. Nutting came to town and under his
guidance the foundation for the Church was laid in 1860.
Building slowed throughout the Civil War and the building
was finally complete in 1864. They began making plans to
build a church. A family in the parish gave them the
property. When Rev. Nutting arrived, talk of building
became serious. Limestone was quarried and by 1860 the
foundation was laid. When Pitts returned, he was surprised
to see the Church. He returned home, found his song, and it
was sung at the dedication.
The town slowly disappeared when the railroad by-passed it
and the flour mill moved. The Church building was closed in
1888 only to be used on rare occasion. It wasn't until the
1900s that the Society For The Preservation of The Little
Brown Church was formed and in 1914 the Church re-
opened to regular services.
The Church remains a healthy Church today.
A query regarding the
―
Flash
‖
corkscrew picturing the Little Brown Church, brought
this response from Reverend Linda:
‖
Since the church did not sell the souvenirs you
mention at least in any records that I can find, it is
really hard to determine a time frame. Throughout the
history of the church from the souvenir black velvet
pillow sold at the World's Fair in Chicago on down to
the
present ... we even found a wine bottle that included a
glass
etching of the church ... there has been little contact
between those who produce and sell souvenirs and
those
who have anything to do with our little local
congregation. Occasionally someone will actually ask
but
not very often.
‖
