Release The Doves Again #73 Traditional Cache
Heartland Cacher: It appears the cache and cache owner have moved on. Should the owner decide to maintain the cache in the near future (30 days), just contact me (by email including the GCXXX and Cache Name), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, I'll be happy to unarchive it.
Heartland Cacher
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Release The Doves Again #73
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Cache was originally placed by BLOODLUST. Here's one back at ya,
bud.
THE LITTLE BROWN CHURCH
The first settlers came to the Bradford area in 1848 and with an
abundant water supply and virgin timber, the town grew. By 1855 the
first members of the Puritan-Congregational Church had begun
holding meetings. By 1856, Bradford had 500 residents and was the
first town in this part of Iowa.
A young music teacher named William Pitts was traveling by
stagecoach from Wisconsin to Iowa to visit his future wife. While
waiting for the stagecoach horses to be changed, he walked down
Cedar Street and saw the empty lot where the church now stands.
Being a romantic young man, the thought came to him of what a
charming setting the spot would make for a church. Returning home,
he wrote the poem “Church in the Wildwood,” and later set it to
music. He put it away in a drawer and forgot it.
Meanwhile, church members grew tired of meeting in places such as
the lawyer’s office, abandoned stores and parishioners’ homes. 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. The Civil War slowed the work, but when one family gave
trees and another donated the sawing of the lumber, the work never
really ceased. By 1862 the building was enclosed and not a penny
had been spent. When it came time to paint the building, the
cheapest paint to be found was Ohio Mineral Paint, which would
protect the wood but which was unhappily brown. With help from
friends in the east, the building was finished, complete with bell,
in 1864.
Mr. Pitts had married and was living in Wisconsin. In 1862 the
couple moved to Fredericksburg to be near her elderly parents and
Mr. Pitts was hired to teach singing class at the Bradford Academy.
Imagine his surprise when he saw a little brown church nestled in
the very trees where he had stood some years before. He went home
and found the song and taught it to his class who sang it at the
dedication service of the church. Pitts had written a song for a
church that wasn’t there. The congregation had painted their little
church brown without ever hearing of the song.
History was hard on the Little Brown Church. The railroad by-passed
the town and a flour mill moved to New Hampton to be on a bigger
river. The railroad and other industry moved to Nashua. The town,
once the county seat, slowly disappeared. In 1888, the church
building was closed, although the congregation continued to hold
Sunday School every week at the school. Occasional services were
held at the building. In the early 1900’s a Society For The
Preservation of The Little Brown Church was started and by 1914,
services were again held, as they are now.
History took another turn when the Weatherwax Quartet traveled
throughout Canada and the United States in the 1920s and 30s. Their
theme song was “The Church in the Wildwood” and they talked about
the little church. After World War I, highways were improved and
cars brought many visitors. When a School superintendent and a
merchants’ daughter were married at the church, a new tradition was
started. Over 40,000 visitors come to the Little Brown Church each
year, and over 400 weddings are performed annually. In June of
2005, the 72,000 wedding was held at the church. The congregation
is alive and well with an active Sunday School, youth groups,
choirs, ladies’ fellowship, Bible study, a prayer chain group, and
weekly services at 10:30 on Sunday. They remain, as they were
founded, a Congregational Church, now affiliated with the United
Church of Christ. The song continues to be sung in a little church
that is painted brown and sits in the wildwood.
In 1998 the bell tower was completely restored. In 2000 with help
from the State Historical Society of Iowa Site Preservation Grant
Program, a new foundation was placed under the church. This project
has enabled the church to be completely handicap accessible. Air
conditioning has been added for the first time.
Worship services are held every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. starting with
a sing a long at 10:15 a.m. Everyone is welcome to join.
Perfect cache for beginners and winter time.
Please put cache back exactly as you found it. If you can't
please contact me. Thank you.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)