Albany’s historic Cumberland Church is finally going national. No, not in the franchising sense.

Late last month, organizers behind the church’s restoration efforts got a long-sought victory when the National Parks Service officially placed the 132-year-old building on the National Register of Historic Places.

For Liz Rapp, the decision marks an exciting turnaround. She’s been working on achieving that listing since 2018, back when city was looking to sell the then-neglected property and demolition had even briefly been on the table.

“My parents would be so proud,” she said.

Rapp, a member of the Cumberland Community Events Center board, which has been a driving force behind the church’s preservation and restoration efforts, has put nearly six years of research into achieving a spot on the national registry.

That process required first getting approval from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office in 2020, and then preparing a new application for federal recognition.

The years of delving into the building’s history, including into the church’s original roster of families, was well worth it according to Rapp. That’s because earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places — a what’s what of historic sites worthy of preservation across the country — opens doors to grant funding from foundations and organizations.

That funding is crucial: It’s needed to complete the church’s restoration.

According to Emma Eaton, president of the Cumberland Community Events Center, the nonprofit is looking for around $150,000 to further interior structural work this year and is looking to finalize architectural designs for future improvements, all with the hope of earning a certificate of occupancy from the city next year.

Getting national recognition gives all the work an added credibility.

“We’re ecstatic,” Eaton said.

The Cumberland, one of 23 individually listed historic properties in Albany according to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, achieved national register status largely through its distinctive Queen Anne style architecture, a relative rarity for Oregon churches, according to Rapp.

Part of her research entailed traveling up and down the Willamette Valley to places like Lafayette, Silverton, Brownsville and Cottage Grove to compare different Queen Anne Style structures. Of 846 religious facilities, only 31 showcase the distinctive style, and Cumberland’s façade is the most ornate and elaborate she’s seen.

Over the last few years, the building has undergone a makeover to preserve those features, including through a paint glow-up with red, green and golden flourishes to highlight its intricate moldings, along with a recent stained-glass window restoration on the church’s northern side this spring, though there’s more work to do.

On June 22, Eaton and others hosted a garage sale outside the church, with the proceeds going toward renovation work.

Eaton’s dedication to and passion for the Cumberland, as evidenced by her brushing the building’s façade clean of grass remnants after a round of mowing earlier this week, was perhaps best exemplified by a surprise gift bestowed by Rapp that drew tears of joy.

It was a bound copy of the application that put the Cumberland on the national map.

___

(c)2024 Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore.

Visit Corvallis Gazette-Times, Ore. at www.gazettetimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.