A local church built in 1870 will soon have its original stained glass windows restored. Holy Trinity Church in Richmond is having 13 stained glass windows that depict different scenes from the Bible undergo work. Deacon Derick Cranston explains the need, “So what they’ve found out over the years is the stained glass windows in these churches that have been around a long time, the pressures from the concrete and the structure pushes down on the stained glass windows and they start to warp and bow out. So we discovered this about three or four years ago and it’s something that has to be addressed.”

The $242,000 project is being paid for in part by a Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant of $121,000. Cranston says the work is meaningful, “Oh, it means a lot. I mean, the heritage in Richmond, you know the Bohemian and Czechoslovakian settlers that came in, that built the church in 1870. We actually just did a story about in our newsletter and we have kind of a local historian that goes to our church that writes about these things, and she discovered an article from the Washington County Press that described the construction of the church. And it says that the stone was taken from a quarry just east of the church. And kind of an item of interest – Finkbine who designed the Capitol building in Iowa City also designed the church. And that’s documented in this Washington County Press article from 1867. People there are pretty proud of their heritage.”

The restoration crews will take the 150-year old windows out one by one, and it will take several months for work to be completed. The plan is to start in January.