To spot the First Congregational Church, just look ahead for a stately brick building with a row of tall white columns and broad brick steps leading right up to its main doors.
Alright, imagine you’re standing here in 1917, the scent of fresh mortar in the air and the sound of construction echoing along these streets. The people of Corvallis had been dreaming of a new church ever since they split from the Presbyterians back in 1883-talk about a long family feud! Their first church was just down the road, but by the early 1900s they were running out of elbow room, and Reverend Edwin T. Sherman whipped up enough excitement (and a bit of fundraising hustle) to turn that dream into a campaign. They knocked on doors, they held socials, they wrote endless letters, and finally, in 1916, they bought this very lot. With $15,000-a king’s ransom at the time-they completed construction, and the first service boomed through these doors in April 1918.
Now, picture Sunday mornings with the bell ringing, kids fidgeting in their pews, and Boy Scout Troop One gathering outside after service, eager for adventure. Maybe you can almost hear their laughter beneath the old oak trees. For 17 lively years, this was a place of joyful voices and song, hope and change.
But then, in 1935, the church changed hands-and changed moods entirely! It became the DeMoss-Durdan Mortuary, where quiet footsteps and soft voices replaced the rush of Sunday bustle. For decades, the building watched Corvallis change all around it, weathering time and seasons. Today, as Christ Central Anglican Church, it still lives with spirit, holding stories of faith, friendship, and a little bit of mystery. Who knew so much history could fit behind those big white columns? And don’t worry, no funeral jokes-after all, this place has heard enough punchlines for one lifetime!
