• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1986 Church Buildings Enter the Urban Age: a Louisiana Example of the Church in Settlement Geography (1885-1930). Gail L. schlundt Sechrist Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Sechrist, Gail L. schlundt, "Church Buildings Enter the Urban Age: a Louisiana Example of the Church in Settlement Geography (1885-1930)." (1986). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 4263. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/4263 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a manuscript sent to us for publication and microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to pho­ tograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction Is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. Pages in any manuscript may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. Manuscripts may not always be complete. When it is not possible to obtain missing pages, a note appears to indicate this. 2. When copyrighted materials are removed from the manuscript, a note ap­ pears to indicate this. 3. Oversize materials (maps, drawings, and charts) are photographed by sec­ tioning the original, beginning at the upper left hand comer and continu­ ing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is also filmed as one exposure and is available, for an additional charge, as a standard 35mm slide or in black and white paper format.* 4. Most photographs reproduce acceptably on positive microfilm or micro­ fiche but lack clarity on xerographic copies made from the microfilm. Fbr an additional charge, all photographs are available in black and white standard 35mm slide format.* *For more information about black and white slides or enlarged paper reproductions, please contact the Dissertations Customer Services Department T TA/f.T Dissertation U IVJL1 Information Service University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 8629197 Sechrist, Gail L. Schlundt CHURCH BUILDINGS ENTER THE URBAN AGE: A LOUISIANA EXAMPLE OF THE CHURCH IN SETTLEMENT GEOGRAPHY (1885-1930) The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Ph.D. Col. 1986 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1987 by Sechrist, Gail L. Schlundt All Rights Reserved PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified herewith a check mark V 1. Glossy photographs or pages_ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print ______ 3. Photographs with dark background 4. Illustrations are poor copy _______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy ______ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page _______ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages 8. Print exceeds margin requirements ______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine ________ 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print _______ 11. Page(s) ____________ lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s) seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages num bered . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at a slant, filmed as received 16. Other University Microfilms International CHURCH BUILDINGS ENTER THE URBAN AGE: A LOUISIANA EXAMPLE OF THE CHURCH IN SETTLEMENT GEOGRAPHY (1885-1930) A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Gail L. Schlundt S echrist B.A., Valparaiso University, 1977 M.A., Ohio U niversity, 1981 May 1986 ©1987 GAIL L . SCHLUNDT SECHRIST All R ights R eserv ed PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work deals with the changing role of the churoh in society and the results of this change on the landscape. Chroniclers of American social history note these changes at the national or regional level. My research foouses on how these changes influenced ohurches at the looal level. The patterns observed in Individual churoh build­ ings help illustrate the broader changes at work in America during the time of change from a rural to an urban society. My interest in the changes in ohuroh form was first aroused by the 1968 construction of a modern building by my home congregation in Michigan City, Indiana. The old ohurch, erected in 1867» was a steepled, red brick structure located near the edge of the central business district. The new sanctuary, designed to look like a ship, is attached to an educational wing that includes a courtyard. The situation of the new church, near the edge of town, was altered by the subsequent ereotlon of a shopping mall next door. These changes in my ) home church symbolize changes that were both typical and profound. The form and location of many church buildings has changed as the functional nature of the church has become more complex. These modern functional ohanges in the church began in the late 1880s. Many congre­ gations had begun adding new facilities by 1930 to accommodate the growing number of churoh organizations. The majority of the additions and reconstructions, however, have occurred sinoe the Second World War. These ohanges in the social organization of the church and their early expression in the church buildings took place between 1885 and 1930. The Sanborn fire insurance maps provided most of my information i l about the pre-1930 Louisiana church structures. Measurements of a few structures differed from year to year, and a few names and denomina­ tio n s were in co rrectly mapped, but the maps proved overall to be an excellent source of information about buildings that have long since disappeared. Because of the size and complexity of the data, there are undoubtedly a few errors in the building statistics. These errors, however, are not frequent enough to alter the conclusions of this work. Every effort has been made to keep them at a minimum. Each change in a church building was recorded as a new observation, new structures were tabulated in the total number of churches, and the number of congregations was based on consistency in name and location (Table 2). The information gathered from the Sanborn Maps is found in Appendix B; a lis t of church abbreviations used throughout the work appears at the beginning of Appendix A. I would like to acknowledge the insightful guidance of my advisor, Dr. Milton B. Newton Jr. He always encouraged me to question the conventional assumptions about the landscape and to examine the broader questions regarding man and faith. I am also grateful to Joyce Nelson for allowing me easy access to the Sanborn Maps and a pleasant atmosphere to conduct my researoh. The staff of the Louisiana Room was also helpful in the retrieval of maps, histories, and files that I used in my research. X appreciate the contributions of the other members of my committee; Drs. Loveland, Hilliard, Hichardson, Muller, and Segal; as they expanded my ideas about how man has ohanged his perceptions and his landscape. Lastly, X would like to thank my husband and my parents for their encouragement and support. i l l TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. l i - i i i LIST OF TABLES. vi LIST OF FIGURES. v il ABSTRACT. v iii- ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. 1 URBANIZATION AND THE CHURCH 4 SYSTEMATIC GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION 7 NONSYSTEMATIC GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION 10 GOALS OF THE STUDY 20 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY 21 CHAPTER TOPICS 21 CHAPTER 2. DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGES IN AMERICAN RELIGION. 23 DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN RELIGION 23 Early Evangelical Forms 23 Sectionalism Influences 31 CHANGES IN AMERICAN RELIGION IN THE URBAN AGE 34 Challenges Faced by the Churches 34 Reactions of the Churches 41 RELIGIOUS PATTERNS OF THE POSTBELLUM SOUTH 48 CHAPTER 3. CHURCHES IN LOUISIANA COMMUNITIES. 53 SOURCES AND METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION 53 The Sanborn Map Company F ire Insurance Maps 54 Seleotion of the Sample Communities 55 Method of Data Collection 60 INFLUENCES OF CHURCHES ON COMMUNITIES 62 INFLUENCES OF COMMUNITIES ON CHURCHES 65 Dominant Creed 65 Community Size 67 Community Vigor 75 Community Type 78 CHANGES IN THE CHURCH-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIP 99 CHAPTER 4. LOUISIANA CHURCH BUILDINGS. 111 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 111 Early Protestant Churches 111 Early Catholic Churches 114 DATA ANALYSIS 117 CLASSES OF CHURCH STRUCTURES 120 Basic Building Shapes 120 Specific Building Features 123 Most Common Building Combinations 125 CHANGES IN CHURCH BUILDINGS 129 i v FACTORS INFLUENCING CHURCHES 136 Economic Factors 136 Current Theological or Denominational Trends 140 Available Materials and Technology 141 Cultural and Physical Environments 143 Lot Size and Looatlon 145 Period of Construction 151 CHAPTER 5. THE SOCIAL COMPONENT OF LOUISIANA CHURCH BUILDINGS. 153 DENOMINATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN CHURCHES 154 High Churches versus Low Churches 154 Locational Differences 161 RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN CHURCHES 163 Social Structure Differences 163 Physioal Structure Differences 170 Locational Differences 172 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION. 176 REFERENCES CITED. 185 APPENDIX A. SANBORN INSURANCE MAPS OF LOUISIANA TOWNS AND CITIES. 196 APPENDIX a LOUISIANA CHURCH DATA FROM SANBORN MAPS 1885-1948.

Load more

  271

Copy Link