Keosauqua resident Teri Stoltz captured this image of the Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church on fire Thursday afternoon, Oct. 24 between Keosauqua and Birmingham. The church burnt to the ground that day. (Photo courtesy of Teri Stoltz) — Keosauqua resident Teri Stoltz captured this image of the Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church on fire Thursday afternoon, Oct. 24 between Keosauqua and Birmingham. The church burned to the ground that day. (Photo courtesy of Teri Stoltz)

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KEOSAUQUA – A fire has destroyed a church north of Keosauqua that was over 100 years old.

Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church was a noteworthy landmark on Highway 1 half-way between Keosauqua and Birmingham. On the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 24, the church burned to the ground.

Keosauqua resident Teri Stoltz happened to be driving by the church around 4:40 p.m. and noticed smoke coming from its steeple.

“There was just a little bit of fire. It didn’t look real big,” Stoltz said. “I called 911 after pulling over, and the lady on the phone said a gentleman had just called about it.”

Stoltz said she saw a piece of wood hanging off the church that was blackened. Stoltz said she thinks the church was struck by lightning, and she spoke with people in the area who reported lightning strikes at the time of the fire.

Stoltz said members of the Keosauqua Fire Department ensured that nobody was in the building, and they focused their efforts on spraying down a neighboring house to ensure the fire wouldn’t spread to it. Fire departments from Birmingham and Stockport arrived on the scene to provide mutual aid.

“It did not take long for the whole top of the church to be on fire,” Stoltz said. “It was really sad to see it go. It was such a pretty little church.”

According to David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim of the Society of Architectural Historians, the church was built in 1903. They wrote on their website sah-archipedia.org that the pointed arches of the church windows suggest it was designed in the Gothic Revival style, while noting that the simplicity of the building suggested a “Craftsman ethic.”

According to the Van Buren County Assessor’s Office, the church has been owned by Terry Welcher since April of this year after purchasing it from its previous owner, Charles Papousek, who owned it since 2011. Before that, James Cassidy made major improvements to the church’s living quarters, and occupied it for 15 years from 1996-2011. On Friday, Oct. 25, Cassidy visited the site to see what remained of the church, which was mostly rubble save for small portions of its brick walls.

Cassidy said he hoped to find remnants of the beautiful stained-glass windows, but unfortunately they were gone.

“I wanted to grab some chunks of glass for old time’s sake,” he said.

As Cassidy and a friend walked around the property to survey the devastation, motorists stopped to talk and express their disappointment at losing a local landmark.

“While we were there, at least 10 people pulled over,” Cassidy said. “They were bummed it was burned down. Everybody was bummed. It was harder on me than I thought, and I’m still in shock. I put a lot of love into that building when I was there.”

Cassidy said he was inspired to buy the church as a fixer-upper. He is a woodworker, and he put his skills to use upgrading the church’s interior. He bought it from a married couple, who he said were living in it rather “crudely” since they were sleeping in a non-insulated portion of the church and were “freezing to death.” Cassidy took the Sunday school room, which had big folding doors that opened to the sanctuary, and insulated that room to use as living space. He took the folding doors down and replaced them with a wall. From his bed, he could see one of the big stained-glass windows that he so admired.

One of the perks of living in an old church is having a bell to ring.

“Neighbors loved it when I rang the bell,” Cassidy said. “Some of them got bells themselves to ring back to me.”

After living in the church 15 years, Cassidy saw it was time to replace the shingles on the roof. He started replacing them himself, but didn’t enjoy the work, since it was so dangerous and high off the ground.

“After doing a certain amount of work, I said, ‘This is crazy. I’m going to get myself killed,’” he said. “I decided to sell it and move back to Fairfield. With the money I made from the sale, I built a tiny home and trailer for myself.”

The new owner, Charles Papousek, finished shingling the roof. Cassidy said another reason he decided to sell the church was dissatisfaction with the smell of hog buildings in the area.

Cassidy said he doesn’t know when the church last hosted services, but he was told it must have been at least 10-15 years before he purchased the building in 1996. However, he did host his own personal events while he owned it, such as birthday parties.