5 Lost or Abandoned Churches

Built in 1850, Mt. Zion Church was the second church to be constructed in Rodney, Mississippi, the town now a virtual ghost town. Sadly, repeated floods have caused the structure to be significantly weakened.

On September 5, 1884, the cornerstone of the Danforth Congregational Church in Syracuse, NY, was laid on a large lot in a “very pleasant and growing suburb.” The brick gabled church, with a low octagonal tower on the north side, a taller tower with a spire on the south, buttressed piers and triple stained glass windows, was built at a cost of $15,000. In the 1990s, the City of Syracuse demolished it.

Despite its condition, this tiny church hasn’t lost its soul. Built around 1900, this is the old Bethany Baptist Church in downtown Enid, Mississippi. Today, the soulful building sits abandoned, left for nature to reclaim.

The St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Port Arthur, Texas, needs saving. The furnishings have been removed, and it sits alone and abandoned on a large lot, but its beauty still captures the soul.

In the late 1800’s, a large influx of Polish settlers caused the need for a second Catholic parish. One of those immigrants, Albert Hopka, met a Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Father Bronislaus Buczynski, who had been assigned the task of ministering to the Polish community that settled in the Fox River Valley. Mr. Hopka invited Father Buczynski to visit his home in Berlin and celebrate Mass there. The year was 1870 and this is recorded as the beginning of St. Stanislaus Parish. In 2001, St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Berlin, Wisconsin, closed its doors .