St. John's Chapel walking tour

The massive wooden doors with wrought iron hinges were made and donated by Frank Gunning. Just inside is a stairway to the belfry, which houses St. Paul’s bell, purchased in 1883. It came from the Queen of the pacific, a ship which had grounded on the Columbia River Bar.

As you enter the chapel, the Trinity windows will be directly before you on the south wall. The three circular symbols of our Lord were given by the Hon. L.L. McArthur and are original to the building. By Slack and Booth in Orange, New Jersey, they arrived the week before Christmas in 1875.

Immediately to your left on the west wall is the window depicting  the Lilies of the Field. The symbol of purity, the glass was made by the Povey Brothers studio in Portland. Installed in 1900, the window replaced the original entrance porch, the nave’s east wall was moved and a shingled bell tower and rustic stone foundation were added.

As you journey west down the nave you will note the “board and batten” siding. This structural feature demonstrates the original look of the church in 1875, inside and out. The middle two bays of the nave remain unchanged since the church was built. The side windows of the church are “quarry”  pattern stained glass. They are the original windows and were manufactured by Slack and Booth.

Looking up, you will see the “knob and tube” wiring system in the roof trusses. It was installed in 1889 and is still in use.

Continuing west you find the 1875  wooden altar. Mary Varney Lang helped with the carving of the embossed emblems on the front, a fleur-de-lis and IHS, of walnut.

The west window above the altar is the Chancel window, a memorial to the son of the man whose gift of $500 made the building of the church possible. The legend of memorial reads, “To the memory of J. Horace Eaton,” with appropriate dates. Horace died at age 16 in 1865 while at the United States Naval Academy.

In the west wall of the south transept you will find the round St. Cecelia window, depicting the traditional patroness of musicians and “inventor” of the organ.

The window was given in 1912 by Naomi Pike Schenck in memory of Naomi W. Covillaud. Ms. Schenck was a three-year-old survivor of the Donner Pass tragedy in the winter of 1847-48. The original building was designed by the Rev. Reuben Denton Nevius, D.D., a pioneer missionary and botanist.