| Endangered List: Back To Main Page |
| City/County/Congressional District: , Prairie County (District 1 ) |
| Location Class: • Church |
| Year Built: • 1912 | Year Abandoned: • 1986 |
| Historic Designation: • National Register of Historic Places 2009 |
| Status: • Abandoned • Endangered |
Catholic priests began serving the assemblage near DeValls Bluff in the 1870s. The parish of St. Elizabeth was established in 1904 and the extant building was built in 1912, was the second church building for this congregation. The 1912 St. Elizabeth’s Church was built in the Plain-Traditional or Carpenter Gothic style not unlike the many Catholic churches across the Grand Prairie and the Mississippi River delta of Arkansas. The small Catholic communities had little funds to construct elaborate buildings. These frame buildings with simplified Gothic architectural elements reflected ecclesiastical architectural forms found in Europe. Constructed by local carpenters and church members, they typified a form that spoke of reverence and reflected theological belief. St. Elizabeth’s is one of the few remaining early twentieth century Catholic churches. Following the death of the last parishioner, St. Elizabeth’s was abandoned by the church in 1986 and was unused by the community. It has been purchased by a local community member who would like to see it restored.