Long Cane A.R.P. Church, organized 1771

Lower Long Cane Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is a rectangular wood-framed building measuring 44 x 64 feet. It rests on a foundation of handmade brick piers, with a pierced brick curtain wall between the piers added at a later date. The church is of simple meeting-house design with a fully-engaged tetrastyle portico at the south or principal facade. This Roman Doric portico, supported by four fluted, stuccoed-brick columns resting on stone bases, features an unadorned entablature and a steeply-pitched pediment with plain raking cornice and weatherboard-sided tympanum. Within the portico is flushboard siding, an elevation wide-step to the two four-paneled single stairways, and two eighteen-light sash pocket windows with full-width, single-leaf workable louvered shutters on the second level. All other elevations are clad in weatherboard siding. On both the first and gallery levels of either side elevation are six eighteen-light sash pocket windows featuring a thick horizontal muntin at their centers that produces the visual effect of a nine-over-nine double-hung sash. All have full-width, single-leaf louvered shutters. Two identical window with identical shutters appear on the first level of the north (rear) elevation to light the pulpit. A single-leaf paneled entrance with exterior masonry stair, landing, and metal railing provides ingress and egress for the minister near the northwestern corner of the rear elevation.
The entire building features a boxed cornice, but without returns on the north (rear) elevation. The pitched roof was originally covered in wooden shingles, recovered with wooden shingles in 1910, and covered with diamond-shaped asbestos shingles by ca. 1950. A small brick flue pierces the roof ridge at the center of the building.
The interior auditorium is two stories in height with flushboard walls and ceiling. Congregational seating is divided by two aisles and a center partition. Four sections of historic hand-planed pews with turned spindle arm rests, hymnal racks, and communion cup holders fill the first level of the sanctuary. A ten-foot deep gallery on the south, east, and west sides was historically supported only by two square wooden pillars at each corner, near the front entrances. The gallery features a continuously-paneled knee wall, ranked wooden floors, and simple handmade pews. Slender iron rods, anchored to the roof structure, were added later to provide support. An elevated stage with historic wooden pulpit occupies the north end of the sanctuary and is flanked by two small anterooms. Simple, milk-glass globe lighting is present throughout the sanctuary. Also visible at the center of the room is a stuccoed-brick chimney flue no longer in use.

2009

2009

2009