Church of Our Saviour, Episcopal church in Placerville, United States.
The Church of Our Saviour stands at 2979 Coloma Street on a hill overlooking downtown Placerville. English-born architect William Patton of San Francisco designed the Carpenter Gothic structure, built by O. Taylor of Placerville; it was completed in 1866 at a cost of about $10,500. Its wooden construction, steep roof and tall windows are visible from the street below.
The congregation was organized by Rev. Charles Caleb Peirce on July 20, 1861, during the Gold Rush, and first met in Placerville's Old Court House. Funds raised at church fairs in 1864 and 1865 paid for the Coloma Street lot, where the El Dorado Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone in June 1865. Bishop William Ingraham Kip consecrated the completed church on April 15, 1866; it cost about $10,500.
The ladies of the congregation held a Fourth of July fair in 1864 to fund the building, the first of many fairs organized by the Episcopal Church Women. A three-day fair and bazaar in May 1865 raised $1,200, enough to buy the Coloma Street lot and begin construction. The parish marked its 150th anniversary in 2011.
The church sits directly on Coloma Street and is easy to locate and access. Parking is available on site, having been added in 1976 when neighboring property was acquired.
The church is the oldest continually occupied church building in El Dorado County. When the Rev. Charles Caleb Peirce died on March 14, 1903, schools and businesses in Placerville closed in his memory. He had asked not to be called "Father".
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,901 contributors worldwide.