St. John the Theologian Church
In Perryville, Perryville, AKThis church illustrates an effective merger of southeast Alaska coastal village cottage design with elements of the traditional R.O. church symbolism. As such this is an architectural exhibit of both genres. The church is one large wooden chamber set on pilings, a rectangle 49'10" in length and 25'10" in width. There are three evenly spaced double-hung, 2-light window sashes on the north and south walls. The roof is a medium-angle gable covered by galvanized metal, capped at the west end of the ridge by a well-scaled hexagonal open cupola and bell tower, exposed through its full circumference by six archways, capped by a pyramidal roof, from which spires a slender onion shape as the base of the single high cross. The eaves of the roof are open, with the rafters exposed. The north and south overhangs of the roof are supported at either end by five severely simple unornamented stick brackets. The east (altar) end is further lighted by a pair of evenly spaced windows identical to those on the north and south walls.
Local significance of the building:
Exploration/settlement; Architecture; Social History
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
About National Register Listings
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
In the late 1800s, there was a gold rush in Alaska that drew thousands of prospectors to the region. The Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-1899 brought tens of thousands of people to Alaska and the Yukon, and was one of the largest gold rushes in history.