<I>Eagle photo</I><BR>Intricate woodwork graces the Advent Church building in John Day.

On Main Street in John Day stands a white, steepled church that has watched over the ebb and flow of the community for more than 100 years.

The Advent Christian Church building is no longer operated as a church but is owned by the John Day Historic Preservation Foundation, which is promoting it as a cultural, historical and meeting facility.

Following is the story of the church, abridged from the Society’s historical record.

William Miller, a New Yorker, preached through the 1830s – actually addressing groups by invitation only. The message focused on the second coming of Christ, which he believed would happen in 1843. Although the 1843 episode was later termed “The Great Disappointment,” his message resonated with people from all denominations who became the formers of the Advent Christian Church in 1860 and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863.

The Advent Christians were among many faiths represented as Easterners traveled West on the Oregon Trail. Dr. William Chapman, a medical doctor from Goldendale, was organizer of the Oregon Advent Christian Conference. He ordained the Rev. James A. Orchard of The Dalles, who had a friend in John Day Valley, Charles Belshaw.

Belshaw was a rancher, farmer, musician and businessman, and a staunch Advent Christian. He held the first service in the local area, and became known as the father of Adventism in the Valley.

During 1894-95, a church elder traveled to Dayville, Mt. Vernon, Long Creek and John Day to strengthen the budding congregation. He converted many residents and saw much potential for growth in Eastern Oregon.

Another elder, H. Carmen, visited for evangelistic work in 1897 and found “6,000 inhabitants in the verderous county with a fine crop of barley. No one was poor to the extent of abjection.”

The congregation was large enough to think about building a church. But where?

Moses Durkheimer and his brother had come to the area with the intention of setting up a mercantile business. They bought land in Prairie City and John Day, but chose to develop their business in the more developed Prairie City, which had a link to Baker City via the Sumpter Valley Railroad as an advantage.

The John Day property had been patented as a 40-acre piece in 1880, and had changed hands four times as parcels were split off. But what was available in 1897 seemed a good size and a good location for the church. On Oct. 1, 1897, for the sum of $250, the trustees S.P. Morgan, L.D. Luce and F.I. McCallum signed the deed for the land.

There was a small house on the lot, but the congregation didn’t want a remodeled house. They wanted a real church with a steeple and a bell to ring on Sunday mornings. Belshaw donated the lumber for the new church.

The Rev. Samuel Bayless Hope, who had built a church at Maryhill, moved from The Dalles and boarded with the Trowbridge family on their farm east of John Day, helping the congregation plan and build their new church.

Members of the congregation donated their carpentry skills and labor, and Hope did the detailed handwork inside and out that gives the church its unique appearance. During the building of the steeple, Hope was interrupted by children who would pelt him with rocks from below. Down he would come, chasing away the offenders before climbing back up to finish the meticulous work.

He made a weather vane that still works after 100 years.

Historian Thomas Vaughan, in a 1974 Oregon Historical Society publication on the building, described the building as “an elaborately picturesque Gothic Revival church, where the decorative forms defy the inherent properties of wood.”

The church was dedicated in 1900. The first pastor was the Rev. Frederick William Brampton. In June 1903, Elder J.H. Stuckey was sent to the church, and he wrote: “Things are going well here. There are large crowds at meetings.”

During the ensuing years, several pastors served, including Mary Grove. A somewhat controversial minister, Grove also invested in real estate and purchased, divided and sold land in the area that became the John Day Plaza, known for years as Groveville.

But by 1925, members of the congregation had stopped attending church encampments on the Sandy River at Troutdale, and the conference considered the John Day church to be inactive.

The building was little used for several years.

Meanwhile, a Missionary Baptist Church organized in the area in 1937. Members met in a large tent behind the Ford garage on Elm, until they decided there was enough support for forming a church.

Organizational meetings were held in the home of Preston and Murrel Phillips, who had been married by Grove in 1923.

Soon with the permission of the Advent Christians, the church made arrangements to rent the Advent church. The rent was a small donation to the Advent Christian Church and a pledge to keep the property in good shape.

The small house on the property was used as a parsonage for a time, but then left unused.

In 1946, the Baptists attempted to buy the church, but were unsuccessful. After that the congregation mmoved across the street to property known as the Glaubitz house, which was built in 1879 by Henry Johnson.

Lots of hard work went into the remodeling of the new property. The first wedding in the new church was that of Stan Phillips and Loyce Benson, on Dec. 12, 1948. At the time, the floor was being replaced, so people brought rugs and scattered them around to fill the gaps.

As the Baptists settled into their new building, the historic church across the way was now owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church of John Day was organized May 18, 1940, by Elder G.S. Belleau, president of the Idaho Conference. There were 34 charter members.

They first met in the old Methodist Church in Canyon City, then in the Scout Hall in John Day and the Methodist Church in John Day. The congregation subsequently approached the trustees of the Advent Christian Church to use the building on Saturdays. The Baptists had been using it for years, and the Degree of Honor had also met there for several years.

The new church moved in on the second Sabbath of 1946.

In a puzzling development, the Seventh Day Adventists began negotiating to buy the church from the local trustees at about the same time the Missionary Baptists were negotiating with the Willamette Valley Advent Conference to buy the building. Both groups tried to seal the sale, but the matter was referred in a friendly suit to the Circuit Court, which ruled in favor of the Seventh Day Adventists.

During two years that the negotiations dragged on, both groups continued amicably to use the building.

The Seventh Day Adventists raised money to buy the church and pay for needed repairs, and on Aug. 13, 1949, the refurbished church was dedicated. The congregation flourished and grew.

The church had a close call in 1969, when fire broke out in the business buildings to the east. The businesses were badly damaged, but the church – although enveloped in smoke and seemingly doomed – ended up with only a few singed shingles and some smoke damage.

With a growing congregation, the Seventh Day Adventists decided to build a new church and education wing. The old church was up for sale.

There was talk of tearing down the old church, which now occupied a prime business location. However, citizens of John Day recognized its value as an historic part of the city. The John Day Historic Preservation Foundation was formed in 1987 and, in partnership with the Grant County Chamber of Commerce, purchased the church and parsonage. Until recently, the Chamber had its office in the old parsonage.

The Foundation stated its purpose at the time of incorporation as “the purchase, restoration and perpetual maintenance of a historical building … and the use of said building so as to further the education, literary and charitable interest of the community.”

Many people have used and contributed to the upkeep of the building over the years, and it continues to attract the attention of tourists who driving into John Day.

– Courtesy John Day Historic Preservation Foundation