Last Thursday, October 13, 2022, the former Olympia Christian Church in Olympia, Kentucky, collapsed. It’s been decades since hymns rang out in its sanctuary, or celebrations spilled forth from its double entry doors. Now it belongs to memory.
Looking northwest at the church, July 2016.
I wrote about the church in a blog post in June 2019, when vines snaked up the walls, and real snakes likely slithered in various places in and out of the building. You can read that article here: https://wp.me/p527lo-1QS
Early 20th century photograph of the church before it was abandoned.
When I first wrote about the church, many years after I’d marveled at its simple beauty, I heard from many people with their own stories and memories associated with the building. If you have photographs of the church – please dig them out, scan them, and send them to me! (Email address: gardens2gables@gmail.com) The church’s story – which is also the history of Olympia – deserves to be more fully told.
Circa 2006 – sans vines, and in much better shape.
Abandoned historic churches are not an uncommon type in Kentucky – but that doesn’t make its loss any less significant. As small, rural communities fade away, the only clue to their existence are the buildings that once helped define the daily routine for a town: school, church, store, post office. Once the buildings fall, and the cemetery holds those with the memories, a vital piece of our community fabric is gone forever.
How very, very sad!!
My first church home.