18th Annual Walking Tour Archive – Danville Historical Society
| Historic Designation: | Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church |
| Address: | 107 West Main Street |
| 1990 Owners: | |
| Description: | Since the cornerstone was laid in 1884, this High Victorian Gothic landmark has stood at the crossroads of Main, West Main, and South Main as ‘a sermon in itself.’ After members of the Wilson street church left to form Main Street United Methodist Church, Mt. Vernon’s patent church was completed on Lynn
Street in 1872. About a decade later, church members decided that their future growth would be enhanced by leaving the business area of the city and moving to the fashionable area on the
western end of Danville. Built by local contractor, T. B. Fitzgerald, the site was purchased from Mr. and Mrs. John Pace in 1884.
The name of the new church originated from Washington’s home on the Potomac and from Mount Vernon Place Church in Baltimore, which was the home church of A. L. Carson, the architect who designed this monument at a finished cost of $33,000. Maj. William Sutherlin was prominently associated with the church’s history. The handsome massing of geometric shapes, thefour-story square tower, and the priceless stained glass windows all contribute to the architectural significance of the structure for its congregation and the community. The Simmons & Willcox organ, built in 1860 for the First Congregational in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and moved to its present site in 1989 ,will be played by the church’s new organist, Robert N. Capen, from 2:00 to 2:15 and 4:30 to 4:45 p.m. during the tour. |