St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church
Also known as: St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Why it's listed
St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church is a single-story wooden church on a hilltop at 40 School Street in Point Arena, just north of the commercial district. Two gable roofs meet in a T shape, and the horizontal wood siding is pierced by large multi-paned pointed-arch windows. A four-sided tower rises at the front where the roofs meet, with turned-post balustrades, a bell opening with decorative bracing, and a circular stained-glass window. A hipped-roof portico shelters the entrance. The Methodists organized Point Arena's first congregation in 1867 and built a church on this site in 1874. That building and the neighboring school burned in the 1906 earthquake, and work on a replacement began before the year ended. The new church was larger but kept a nineteenth-century look. It is the only religious building in the town more than fifty years old, and it has continued to serve as a center for community activities.
Significance in brief: It is the only religious building within Point Arena itself that is more than fifty years old, giving the clearest surviving link to the town's long history of organized religion. The Methodists founded the town's first congregation in 1867 and built their first church here in 1874. It has also served as a center for community activities of a religious or quasi-religious nature.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90001366, listed September 13, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 40 School St., Point Arena |
|---|---|
| County | Mendocino County |
| Listed | September 13, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001366 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1907-1940 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Gothic |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in religious use as a church. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.91384, -123.69341 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90001366.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7591171
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.