1. Main Street Historic District (No. One)

This historic district, placed on the registers in 2003, covers the historic Main Street area south of the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe tracks. Nine of the buildings are “contributing� to the National Register designation. They date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and all have historic associations with Newton.

Two of the buildings, the Carnegie Library (no. 2) and Warkentin Mill (no. 3) were independently listed on the National Register in earlier years.

This double Italianate building (1886), with its two bay windows capped by pointed roofs, is one of the most imaginative and high-style buildings on the street.

2. Carnegie Library

Architect: William W. Rose, Kansas City
Builder: Reikowsky and Bartel Company

Newton has one of fifty-nine libraries built in Kansas by grants from Andrew Carnegie. Newton’s grant was $16,000. The result is a handsome red brick and stone structure in the neo-classical style, dominated by two massive Ionic columns. Crowning the entrance is a plaster tablet with Roman inscription of the year (A. D. MCMIII).. The architect was W. W. Rose of Kansas City, who designed that same year the Kansas Building at the St. Louis World’s Fair. By reputation he was “one of the best if not the best.�

Choosing the classical style put Newton in tune with the common Carnegie style used nationally, and it also showed appreciation for the Greco-Roman classical tradition. The library was Newton’s “Temple of Learning� and a “power for good.�

In 1973 the city built a new library. The old building became the Harvey County Historical Museum. A portrait of Andrew Carnegie hangs in the museum.

3. Warkentin Mill (Newton Milling Co.)

This building of 1879 first housed a Monarch Steam Mill. Bernhard Warkentin purchased the mill in 1886 and renamed it the Newton Milling and Elevator Company. Warkentin was one of the leaders of the Mennonite migration from South Russia (the Ukraine) to Kansas in the 1870s. These people brought Turkey Red seed wheat. The hard winter wheat became the most extensive class of wheat grown in the U. S. The original building was 40 by 50 feet, a stone and brick structure having five floors, a basement and four floors above grade. The interior is of heavy timber construction and has been altered through the years. The fourth floor is in the French Mansard style and is unique to this area. A 100 foot tall brick chimney stack stands west of the building.

Bernhard Warkentin, whose father had been a miller in the Ukraine, built his first mill in Halstead before coming to Newton. He was instrumental in making Kansas the “Breadbasket of the Nation.� (See also no. 11, Warkentin House).

Today the Mill houses a restaurant and offices.

4. Main Street Historic District (No. Two)

The Main Street of a Kansas city gives visitors their first impression. Mayor Willis Heck calls Main Street "the official lobby of the community."

This large historic district, placed on the National Register in 2003, covers the commercial area north of the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe tracks. It includes fifty-four "contributing" buildings which qualify for Register listing. History and preservation experts refer to Newton's Main Street as "intact" and "remarkably preserved" as a traditional Midwestern commercial streetscape. It has kept the flavor of "going uptown."

Construction occurred decade by decade. Although some buildings have undergone modernization and metal facades, many retain their early appearance. Taken as a whole, the Newton Main Street buildings present a record in brick and stone of the evolution of commercial and institutional design from the late nineteenth to late twentieth century.

Two buildings, the Railroad Depot, and the Railroad Savings and Loan Building, were individually listed on the National Register at an earlier time.

The next six images are a part of the Main Street Historic District.

J.A. Randall Building

This is a large three-story Renaissance Revival building, clad in red brick and ornamented with white glazed terra cotta. An elaborate metal cornice tops the building. Randall, who settled here in 1873, was a big cattle rancher and business entrepreneur. The architect was C. W. Terry of Wichita.

The Terra Cotta Building (Dickey’s Drug and Jewelry)

J. B. Dickey’s splendid new facade made his store one of the brightest on the street. It has an exceptional terra cotta tile facade, with tiles in two shades of green, enlivened with yellow sunflowers.

Old Newton Post Office

In Renaissance Revival design, the post office was one of Newton’s prized buildings of early century (much featured on post cards). Three rounded arches decorate the facade of tan bricks. The architect was James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U. S. Treasury.

The Mennonite Buildings

The 722 building of 1914 was the Herold bookstore and Mennonite publishing shop and later, the headquarters of the General Conference Mennonite Church. A major restoration in 2002-03 removed metal facades and restored the original design. Today, the buildings house the Provident Bookstore and offices of Mennonite Church USA.

First United Methodist Church

Organized in 1874, Methodists have worshiped in three buildings. For their third one, they chose a “temple� in the Greco-Roman style with a dome of green glazed tiles and towering Corinthian columns (“Christianized� with angels in the capitals). The interior had details both Christian and “purely classic Greek.� The newspaper reported: “All in all there seems nothing that could be desired.� The architects were Hawk & Parr of Oklahoma City. Contractors were E. C. Fox and Son. The addition to the north was added in 1964-65.

Italianate Building

This elegantly designed building is one of the eye-catching gems of Main Street. It has a three-sided bay window, topped by a cast iron railing; above a metal cornice with urn finials at each end, and Mansard roof.

5. Santa Fe Depot

Architect: E. H. Harrison, Santa Fe Railroad
Builder: M. R. Stauffer

The Santa Fe Depot, serving the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, holds a key location at the intersection of the railroad and Main Street–where rails and road meet. It is Newton’s third Santa Fe depot, replacing two earlier ones. In its great days, it housed ticket office, waiting room, railroad offices, and a renown Harvey House restaurant. Newton long served as railroad division center and headquarters.

The depot is in the Tudor Revival style, constructed of brick with steep slate roof and patches of half-timbering. The interior has medieval touches of heavy beamed ceilings and half-timbered walls. The picturesque style greatly pleased Newton citizens, who felt that it gave a “Shakespearean� cultural flavor to the town.<

The depot today serves Amtrak as well as providing office and shop spaces.

6. Railroad Savings and Loan Building

Architect: Samuel Greenebaum

The Railroad Savings and Loan Association in 1925 erected an elegant Renaissance (Beaux Arts) style building. It made a grand appearance on Main Street. A monumental building faced with cut limestone, it has numerous classical ornamentations. Most prominent are the high Corinthian pilasters, the tall arched windows with keystones topped with lions’ heads, and the overall symmetrical proportions.

Samuel Greenebaum, the architect, grew up in Newton. He was of the firm Greenebaum, Hardy, and Schumacher of Kansas City. A student in Paris, he fell in love with the Beaux Arts architecture; and this he brought to Newton. He designed several other buildings in Newton, including Lincoln School and the Ripley Hotel (demolished). Citizens took great pride in the building’s stateliness, modern features, and “many refinements.� A crowd of 3,000 persons gathered for its open house and showed delight.

Today called 500 Main Place, it houses the Chamber of Commerce, the Preservation Commission, and various businesses.

7. Hoag House

Edward H. Hoag (1841-1918) was president of Newton’s Commercial Bank. In this position, he was a driving force behind the 1880s real estate boom. He helped form the first Chamber of Commerce, the street railway, electric light company, and Newton Buggy Company. His wife, Ellen McConnell Hoag, was known widely for her work for Presbyterianism.

Bankers like Hoag benefitted greatly from the building boom and constructed symbols of their wealth in the Queen Anne houses along West Broadway. The Hoag House’s most distinctive feature is the wrap-around porch, added in 1900, with its turret and finial. The porch, elaborate bays, stylish windows, detailed gable ornaments, and fish scale shingles are all common to Queen Anne homes. The decked roof and angled entry are atypical. Much of the original interior including light fixtures, fireplaces, doorknobs, even wallpaper remains intact.

Hoag’s bank failed in the Newton Panic of 1890 and he lost the house. Later owners included Dr. J. T. Axtell, who removed part of the building and used it to create the home to the south. Although the home served as a boarding house and tearoom after World War II, it never lost its architectural integrity. Today it again serves as a family residence.

8. Brown House

Samuel A. Brown came to Newton the year it became a city, 1872. A Civil War veteran, he was sent to Newton as an agent for the Adams Express Company (which later merged with Wells Fargo). In 1874 Mr. Brown purchased two blocks of land between Sixth and Broadway from the Newton Town Company. The Newton Kansan reported in 1878 that building had commenced on Brown’s personal dwelling. However, there was also a report in 1884 that Mr. Brown was again building a house on the land, so the home is usually dated as “circa 1878.�

The home in which Mr. Brown and family lived until his death in 1916 is a Queen Anne style with a four-square body, two wrap-around porches and a second-story tower on the east side of the front porch. True to Queen Anne style, the house has several different types of shingles on the body and tower and pyramidal corner blocks at the tops of each window surround. Some stained glass windows and one etched glass door still remain. Decorative designs formed by wood can also still be seen on the front and east sides. The interior retains its original woodwork, including ball and spindle fretwork on the staircase.

The house has always been a private residence and currently hosts its seventh family.

9. Mennonite Settler Statue

Sculptor: Max Nixon
Pedestal and tiles: Marsh Construction of Topeka and Vernon T. Roberts (tiles), Newton

The Mennonite Settler Statue, also known as the Wheat Memorial, is an eleven-foot stylized depiction of a bearded Mennonite wheat farmer standing straight and erect, hat in hand, in an attitude of prayer. He is made from Kansas Silverdale limestone.

The sculpture rests on a red cylindrical pedestal upon a circular mosaic. The mosaic inscription reads: �Commemorating entry into Kansas from Russia of Turkey Red Hard Wheat by Mennonites 1874.�

The statue was the 1942 project of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Max Nixon, a young Kansas artist, working under the WPA, was the sculptor. Local expenses were covered by donations, much of it “in kind,� by bushels of wheat contributed out of the field. Nixon used the social realism style of the pre-World War II era. His goal was to honor wheat farmers and their arduous but heroic labor. At first, his statue seemed too “avant garde� for Kansas; and when first unveiled, the onlookers gave a “gasp.� Through the years, it has gained affection. In 2000, the statue underwent a major restoration.

10. Coleman (Lustron) House

Architect: Pre-fabricated by Lustron Corporation
Builder: M. R. Stauffer

Following World War II, the Lustron Corporation applied new technology to provide affordable housing for the masses. The pre-fabricated houses went out unassembled to the site for local assembly. Lustron houses, recognizable by the porcelain-enameled steel appearance, were advertized as superior housing: “fireproof, ratproof, decay-proof, and termite proof. Will never deteriorate or stain.�

The Newton Lustron House is the two-bedroom Westchester Deluxe Plan in Dove Gray and measures 31 by 35 feet. M. R, Stauffer was the local Lustron dealer and builder. Jean Coleman, his son-in-law, was in charge of construction and first owner of the house (thus the name, Coleman House).

Lustron was one of the most innovative architectural movements of the time. The Coleman House is in excellent condition, and is one of only 100 Lustron houses surviving in Kansas.

11. Warkentin House/h3> 211 East First Street
1886-87 Listed: NR, KR

The home of Bernhard Warkentin and Wilhelmina Eisenmayer Warkentin was built in 1886-1887. Mr. Warkentin was one of the leaders of the Mennonite migration from South Russia to Kansas in the 1870s. A miller, he ran the Warkentin Mill on Main Street (no. 3). The architectural style has been described as Queen Anne or “Victorian Baroque.� The building is a mansion, by Newton standards, because of its size.

The interior is unique in that the decor and the finishes are still original and have not been altered by remodeling. Eighty percent of the furniture and furnishing are original. Each room is decorated in the finest material of the time. There is stained glass, carved woodwork, flocked wallpaper, and fireplaces with imported Italian tile. Ornate chandeliers of Czech crystal may be seen in the parlor and music room. The master bedroom has the original bedroom suite of burled walnut with Italian marble tops.

Warkentin House is open to the public as a Victorian House Museum.

12. Neal House

Jairus Edward Neal, who moved to Newton in 1873, built his house in 1875. He was part of the Newton elite, as banker, lawyer, politician, and prominent socialite. The two story house is in the Italianate style. It has full basement, wood siding exterior, and roof of asphalt roll roofing. The house underwent a major renovation around 1928, which included removal of much of the original large porch that covered the front and turned the corner on the east. The new porch covers only the area of the front door.

In the interior, most of the original fine woodwork remains. The ceiling heights on the first floor vary, from nine feet in the kitchen and dining room in the rear to eleven feet in the parlors in the front. This is caused by a change of floor levels on the second floor. The first floor rooms are double parlors, dining room and kitchen. There are front and rear stairways to the upper floor which has a sitting room and four bedrooms. Although a nineteenth-century house, the changes in the late 1920s make it a fine statement in the decorative tastes of that time as well.

13. Goerz House

Architect: Elbert Dumont, Wichita

Goerz House, the first private residence on the Bethel College campus, was the home of the Rev. David Goerz and Helene Riesen Goerz and family. Their Queen Anne style house, when built, had a simple, unadorned appearance, and faced south. Early twentieth-century alterations moved the entrance to the west, and by 1915 the house had its present classical appearance with grouped Doric columns. Goerz met architect Dumont when he had earlier worked on the Bethel Administration Building. The garage to the east was an addition of 2002.

Goerz (1849-1914), a Mennonite leader, arrived from south Russia in 1875, first settling in Halstead and then Newton. He was business manager of the college and co-pastor of the College Mennonite Church. His son and the second owner, Rudolph Goerz, founded the Goerz Flour Milling Plant.

Goerz House has literary stories to tell. Joseph O. Kesselring, professor of music 1922-24, author of Arsenic and Old Lace, lived here. He incorporated features of Goerz House, especially the famous window seat, into the Brewster house of the play.

In 1921 Bethel bought the house for a dormitory. Currently, it is the home of the college president.

14. Bethel College Administrative Building

Architects: Willis T. Proudfoot, George W. Bird, and Elbert Dumont, all of Wichita

Bethel College, a Mennonite institution chartered in 1887, began building in 1888. The first architects were Varney Brothers of Newton, who designed a grandiose building with a tall bell tower. Viewed as too extravagant, the work was given to Proudfoot and Bird of Wichita. They scaled back and created the present “castle� in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The limestone building has two irregular towers, some turrets, and massive rounded arches.

The cornerstone laying took place October 12, 1888. When finances failed, construction was at a standstill for several years. During this time, the detractors mocked the “ruins� as the “Monument to Mennonite Stupidity.� The building was finally finished in 1893. At first, it was the entire college, housing the president, the students, and all classes. Babies were born there. When Proudfoot and Bird moved on, they turned the final details over to Elbert Dumont (of Dumont and Hayward).

Rising steeply and dramatically out of the flat prairies, it casts a powerful spell upon its viewers.

15. Haury-Hohmann House

Built in 1898 by G. A. Haury, the house was in possession of the Haury family for over three decades. Haury was Bethel professor of Latin and German from 1893 until his death in 1926. The next owner was his son, G. A. (Gus) Haury Jr., also a teacher at Bethel and at the high school. Other sons were Irvin, Emil, and Albert. Emil Haury became an eminent anthropologist of American Indians.

The house is in the simple Queen Anne style, with porches on two sides. Cedar shingle siding was added in 1973, giving a hint of the Craftsman style.

In 1934 Music Professor W. H. Hohmann and Elsbeth Hohmann, with children Gertrude, Rupert, and Randalin, bought the house. They made many improvements, including refinishing of the oak and pine woodwork. Hohmann served as professor 1923-62. The current resident is Rupert Hohmann, also a Bethel music professor for several years and later at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. The house has always been home to the two Bethel families.

16. Wedel House

The two story wood frame Wedel House is in the National Folk Style with some Queen Anne detailing. Peter J. and Magdalena Wedel were the first owners. He was professor of natural science at Bethel College for forty years (1902-42) and author of The Story of Bethel College (1954). Wedel claimed that the house was his refuge from the “madding crowd.� He died in 1951, and the property passed on to the children.

In 1960, Arnold M. and Dolores E. Wedel bought the property and did considerable remodeling. Arnold Wedel, long time professor of mathematics at Bethel (1951-94) is the great-nephew of Professor P. J. Wedel. The two Wedel professors served Bethel College for a total of eighty three years.

Waldo R. Wedel (1908-96), son of the Peter Wedels, was born in the house in 1908. He gained fame as “father of Plains Archeology� and Senior Archaeologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The Wichita Eagle in 1999 listed him among the “100 Most Famous Kansans.�

17. 1877 Meeting House

This historic building began as the Baptist Church. With its pointed windows and gables, it is an excellent example of Protestant wood frame Gothic architecture. The windows retain their original stained glass and inside the tin ceiling is intact.

Baptists organized in July of l877. In November, members pitched in and began work on a building at 210 W. Fifth. Dedication was January 27, 1878. A week later, after powerful revival meetings, they baptized twelve persons in the cold waters of Sand Creek. In 1884 Baptists built a new, more stylish church and sold the old. Many groups have used the “old church� (including Mennonites, German Baptists, Second Baptist Church, First Christian Church, Evangelicals, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Holsey Chapel). In 1968 Holsey Chapel closed.

Demolition seemed certain. In the nick of time, the People’s Bible Baptist Church bought the building and moved it to its present location. They renamed it the “1877 Meeting House.� The building retains most of its original features. However, Pastor Vern Bender states: “It is not a museum� and serves a living congregation . Although it may lack “air-conditioning,, it has “prayer-conditioning..�

18. Wirkler-Krehbiel House

The Wirkler-Krehbiel house, built in 1898, is one of the oldest in North Newton. This Queen Anne style home was built by Christian and Elizabeth Wirkler and later purchased by their daughter Mary and her husband, C. E. Krehbiel. The Krehbiels were long time residents of the home; in 1958 the family donated the house to Bethel College.

The Queen Anne style is evident in the large wrap-around porch with turned spindles and gingerbread decorations. Fish scale shingles grace each of the dormers along with stained glass edged windows. The interior features an elegant staircase with a large newel post. Oak pocket doors lead to each of the rooms on the main floor.

The Wirkler-Krehbiel house is a landmark in North Newton, with many ties to Bethel College. In its early days, the Wirklers ran a boarding house for college students. Mary and Elizabeth Wirkler were art teachers at Bethel. When owned by Bethel, it was a home to many faculty families. The home also served as the college guest house for many years. Now again privately owned, the current owners are restoring the home to its original condition.

19. Swartz House

Samuel M. and Priscilla Swartz built this house in the fashionable west Broadway area in 1887. In the Queen Anne style, it has steeply pitched roofs and irregular shapes, porches, and gables. It was often praised as one of the finer houses of Newton, a “neat residence.�

Samuel M. Swartz moved to Newton in 1879 and entered the lumber business. For many years he owned the S. M. Swartz Lumber Company, which promised honest business “On the Square.� Two of his sons, F. R. Swartz and Louis B. Swartz worked with him in the lumber yard. Active in many community affairs, he served on the city council and had a leading role in the Commercial Club. He also made a mark by driving one of the early autos in town, a 1908 Stoddard Dayton. In 1913 he retired from Newton and moved to California.

The house retains many of its original elegant features, including stained and beveled glass windows.

20. McLain-Branine House

Mr. A. H. McLain built his large Queen Anne style house in 1885. He was an entrepreneur, community leader, and vice president of the Newton National Bank. The newspaper reported that the eight bedroom house was very “elegant� and “one of the most complete and convenient in the city.� No expense was spared; the cost was not less than $4,000.

When McLain’s bank failed in the “panic of 1890,� he lost the house. His bank did “too much speculation with other people’s money,� complained the public. In 1893 Cyrus M. Beachy (owner of Steffans Dairy in Wichita) bought the house. In 1906 it became the Branine House: This included Charles Branine, attorney (1906); his brother Ezra Branine, also an attorney (1910) and C. F. and Mildred Branine Ice (1946). During the past half century, it has been home to a succession of Newton families.

Although there have been many changes, touches of elegance remain. Ionic columns grace the porch. There is a carriage house with cupola to the south.

21. Reese House

Builder: Benjamin Hatfield

The John C. and Nellie Reese house of 1879 is one of the oldest and finest homes of Newton. The two story, twelve room house is in the Italianate style. The tall eight foot windows have shutters that were opened each morning and closed each evening. It was a house noted for beauty and “fine taste.�

The rooftop observatory or cupola was the talk of the town, “providing a most beautiful landscape view of the surrounding country for a space often of twelve miles in all directions.� Mrs. Reese used the observatory as a sewing room and lookout. At some point, the observatory was hoisted down and set in the back yard as a summer kitchen. Otherwise, the house has maintained its original character.

John C. Reese was a pioneer Newtonian. In 1873, after traveling around as a gold prospector and adventurer, he decided to settle down in Newton and opened a drug store. The Reese House and the Reese Drug Store, a fixture on Main Street, remained in the family for four generations, well over a century, before being sold to new owners.

22. Jekyll House

Builder: George Jekyll

George Jekyll and family moved to Newton in 1884, coming west from Ottawa, Illinois. Mr. Jekyll launched a “Contractor and Builder� business on East Sixth. He could build “buildings of any kind in city or country.� One of his first jobs was his own home at 328 E. Third (corner of Third and Walnut).

His Queen Anne style house has an unusual eclectic look, no doubt of Jekyll’s own design. Cross-shaped and opening to the street corner, the house has a distinctive rounded front porch which wraps around the entire south and east wings. The Jekylls in 1885 moved on to a farm near Wichita and in that year sold the house to T. J. Grant.

Over the years, deterioration set in, until Robert J. Woulfe (owner 1951-72) did a thorough remodeling. Many give him credit for “saving� the house. Owners have made many changes, including alteration of the porch trim and bannisters and an addition to the north.

23. Millner House

The Millner House of 1913-14 is an open-gabled cottage in the National Folk style. The roof is cross-gabled and the front is dominated by a large, inviting porch, which wraps around to the east. The lawn is surrounded by a picturesque stone retaining wall.

The house was built for George and Lucia Millner. George Millner worked at different times for the Newton Milling and Elevator Company, the Newton water department, and the Santa Fe Railroad. Two years after Millner’s death, in 1923, Leslie Gates bought the house.

A nice example of Newton middle class housing, the house retains its early century character. The interior woodwork and hardwood floors are preserved as well as the pocket doors. Mrs. Millner was very proud of the hardwood floors, so much so, that she required the men of the family to come in at the basement entrance and take off their boots, before walking in.

24. Bethel Deaconess Home

This substantial red brick building of 1910 was the home of the Mennonite Deaconess sisters who ran the adjoining Bethel Deaconess Hospital (now demolished). It has the Craftsman style with deep overhanging eaves and exposed rafters. A stone marker over the door reads: Bethel Deaconess Home.

Mrs. Bernhard (Wilhelmina) Warkentin gave the funds for the home, a sum of $17,000, as a memorial to her late husband, a strong supporter of the hospital and the Deaconess movement. In 1916, the home was enlarged with another Warkentin gift. To the south is Sarepta Hall, built as a dormitory for student nurses.

The Home offers particular interest because of the Deaconess sisters. Organized at Newton in 1901, the Deaconesses had a distinctive dark garb and gained a great reputation for pious nursing work. In the later twentieth century, the Deaconess movement declined as members grew old and new members did not join. In 1986 the last Deaconess moved over to the nearby Bethel Home for the Aged.

Today it houses Central Homecare and Hospice.

25. Johnson Farm

The Johnson Farm, located three miles southeast of Newton, was homesteaded by Christopher Johnson in 1870. He and his brother Andrew Johnson immigrated from Sweden in 1869 and homesteaded in Harvey County on adjoining 80-acre tracts. According to family lore, the brothers spent the first winter in a dugout. Christopher built a small house in about 1870, and in 1872 married Helene Hannsen, also from Sweden. They had seven children; six survived and one died in childhood.

The farm, now 160 acres, consists of the small one-story, original house of 1870; a hay barn, calf shed, machine shed, and tool shop, all of the 1880s; a larger two-story house built in 1900 (when the original house was too small ); plus a garage of about 1920, a “box-car� chicken coup, and a windmill. Brother Andrew Johnson built an identical 1870 house, but it burned long ago.

The Johnson Farm complex is a fine example of a nineteenth-century Swedish farmstead in America. The red outbuildings are in the style of traditional Swedish Folk architecture. The main house, however, has recently been much altered and re-sided.

Newton might be called the “city of churches� because of its many houses of worship. Building churches was an early priority, both for worship and for the social good, so that Newton would be a “desirable place in which to live and rear families.� Buildings of the first decades (the 1870s and 1880s), are still in use. The Preservation Commission wishes to call attention to a sampling of Newton’s historic churches, who meet the fifty-year rule, even though not listed on the registers. It seems that churches seldom apply for listing on historical registers, even if eligible. Note two buildings described earlier, First Methodist Church and People’s Church (no. 17).

26. Old Methodist Church.

This wooden Gothic building is the oldest surviving church of Newton, having served many groups at three locations: The Methodists in 1874, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in 1882, and in 1910 the Church of the Brethren, which moved it to the present location. After the Brethren moved in 1968, it has served a variety of congregations.

27. First United Church of Christ (First Congregational Church).

The Congregational Church organized in 1884 and built its church in 1886 (with various additions since). Constructed of cut stone, the church reaches upward with a great crenellated tower. Inside it is finished with hard pine wainscoting and beam ceiling. In 1961 the church merged with Immanuel E & R Church to form the First United Church of Christ.

28. St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Catholics began meeting in Newton in the summer of 1871, at first in tents, later in a building at Sixth and Oak. In 1902 construction began on the red brick Romanesque Revival building; with dedication in 1904. The builders were brothers William and George Hanna, members of the parish. The interior has notable stained glass and murals. The school was constructed in 1909 and the rectory in 1914.

29. Old Second Baptist Church.

Organized at Newton in 1883, the congregation met various places before putting up its own building. With its picturesque tower and roof line, it became a neighborhood landmark. It served well for many years. In 2002 the church moved to a new location on West First. The future of the historic building is uncertain.

30. First Baptist Church.

This is the third Baptist church building (see no. 17 for the first). The second was in a high Gothic style. The third time the choice was the Greco-Roman classical style with massive Ionic columns. “All greatly admired.� The contractor was C. A. Kinnear, who used local and church labor. The result was “the most for its money in the way of a building.�

31. First Mennonite Church.

In spite of the hard times of the thirties, Mennonites found resources for a new edifice. They chose the Collegiate Gothic style with half timbering and interior exposed beams. This was something of an innovation for Mennonites, as was the bell and stained glass (Jacoby Art Glass). Deaconess Frieda Kaufman, who favored European style Gothic, was a powerful force on the building committee. Wiens Brothers were the contractors.

32. Salem United Methodist Church.

Begun as the Evangelical Church, through denominational mergers, it become E. U. B. and then United Methodist. The new Gothic church incorporated some of the old 1912 church into the educational unit. Overend and Boucher of Wichita were the architects.

33. Bethel College Mennonite Church.

Organized in 1897, the church met in the chapel of the Bethel College Administration Building for over fifty years. Desiring a more “churchly� style, members after World War II voted to have a Gothic stone building. They broke ground in 1950 and dedicated it December 2, 1956. The architect was Lorentz Schmidt of Wichita. Stained glass is by the Jacoby Company.