Stone Church in Auburn, KY

Pearce Memorial United Methodist Church

I was so busy photographing this interesting stone church in the little town of Auburn, KY, that I forgot to read the name on its sign! The letters are almost too faded to read in my photograph, but I verified its name on the internet. This is the Pearce Memorial United Methodist Church.

After I had the name, I found a church history that was written in 1974 by Nancy R. Wright. It says that the church was named for John Pearce, a lifelong member of the congregation, whose last will and testament designated $20,000 for the construction of the building.

Dedicated on March 26, 1939, this structure replaced an 1882 building and became the third meeting house of the congregation. A stone parsonage (barely visible at left in the photo below) was built behind the church in 1950-1951.

According to Wright's history, this is Bedford stone (a type of limestone) from the Halls Knob Quarry near Auburn. Her history also includes a description of the interior of the building.

The architect of the church was Mr. A. B. Gardner of Nashville. I have not located any additional information about him. I can only say that Mr. A.B. Gardner was not affiliated with the Nashville architectural firm, Dougherty and Gardner, which operated throughout the 1920s. (That was Thomas W. Gardner.) It seems that this fanciful little stone church in Auburn may have been Mr. A. B. Gardner's greatest work.

(The walls of the church don't really slant in.

The distortion was caused by the wide-angle lens.)