SEE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

SEE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Iowa

Ridgeway

6

4

E

28

1882

1976,1993,2026

house of worship

Early Gothic Revival

Clapboard

No

A SMALL, FRAME CHURCH WITH A STEEPLY-PITCHED, GABLED ROOF AND POINTED-ARCH WINDOWS. THE FRONT DOOR HAS A POINTED TRANSOM. THIS CHURCH WAS MOVED TO FOLKLORE VILLAGE FARM ON 7/28/93. ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION WAS AT HWY 151/23, W. SIDE, OPPOSITE INTERSECTION WITH CTH D (0503E-16). A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. 2026 Survey Notes: Resource 47249 is the NRHP-listed ca. 1882 Plum Grove Primitive Methodist Church. The one-room church was constructed in the Gothic Revival style and features a rectangular form, wood frame construction, and a gable-front roof clad in asphalt shingles. The walls are clad in weatherboard siding and the building set on a raised foundation of limestone ashlar reconstructed on top of a poured concrete basement. The primary elevation features three bays, with the left and right bays occupied by pointed arch windows and the central bay containing the primary entryway. The entryway is composed of a pair of two-panel wood doors, with the upper panels featuring rounded arches, and a pointed arch transom with four lights. The primary entryway is accessible via wooden stairs with turned balustrades. The north and south elevations each contain three, evenly spaced windows. All windows feature wood sashes with a pointed arch and a two-over-four lite pattern. Every window is set within a composite molding frame. The church was originally located north of Mineral Point in an area known as Plum Grove, between Dodgeville and Mineral Point (NPS 1995). After serving as a church through the second decade of the twentieth century, the building served as a community center from the 1930s through 1960s. By the 1970s the building had fallen into disuse although community club members continued to care for it. Ownership of the church was transferred to the Folklore Village Farm in 1993, and the building was moved to its current location in Ridgeway Township that year. The church was listed in the NRHP in 1995 (NPS 1995). The church is now operated by the Folklore Village of Iowa County (Folklore Village 2026b). In 1915, 38 churches were located outside the cities, towns, and villages of Iowa County. By 1993 only 14 remained, with few retaining the high degree of integrity that Plum Grove Church did at the time.

DODGEVILLE CHRONICLE 11/9/1995. “Architecture/History Survey: Reconstruct USH 151: Dodgeville To Belmont.” WHS project number 92-0510IA/LT. October 1993. Prepared by Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center (GLARC). Folklore Village. 2026b. “Plum Grove Church.” Dodgeville, WI. Electronic document, https://folklorevillage.org/plum-grove/, accessed June 2026. National Park Service (NPS). 1995. “Plum Grove Primitive Methodist Church,” National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Electronic document, https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/4ae0e605-4b65-41ec-a160-6b4ec71476b7, accessed June 2026.