Most buildings survive by trying to stay invisible, but Christ Church survived by undergoing a total demolition and reconstruction. Reverend Lot Jones established the first version of this site in 1825 during a Georgia mission. However, the locals decided the original design was subpar and ordered its destruction in 1851.
The current Gothic structure hit the ground running in 1852 and has endured plenty of historical heavy lifting since. In 1863, the church leadership decided to sacrifice their inventory by donating a massive bell to the Macon Arsenal for the war effort. They eventually managed to replace that lost piece of equipment in 1868.
Internal operations have been just as busy as the exterior. On December 19, 1867, the church served as the wedding venue for the noted poet Sidney Lanier. Today, the site maintains its status on the National Register of Historic Places on Walnut Street Lane. It still functions as a parish for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. To keep the atmosphere from getting too quiet, a Fisk organ was deployed into the nave in 1999.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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