Yokena Presbyterian Church, Vicksburg Mississippi
Dedicated in 1886, the Yokena Presbyterian Church is one of Mississippi's unique expressions of rural, vernacular, ecclesiastical architecture. The church is simply constructed but sophisticated in its use of detail, and it is rendered architecturally significant as one of the states few examples of the Stick Style, a style that was little employed in Mississippi in the late nineteenth-century. Although the exterior ornament is restricted to the triangle of the gable-end facade, which has applied diagonal boards and Elizabethan strapwork, the interior is richly ornamented through the interplay of exposed roof construction, chevron-patterned diagonal wall boards, and vertical board wainscoting. An unusual barrel-vaulted effect is created by the use of semi-circular collar braces in the hammer-beam roof. The building gains added significance from its well documented construction and its architectural integrity. Designed by William Stanton, the building was constructed through the efforts of Mrs. Patty Hyland Gould Hankinson, who donated part of her family plantation, Lucca Yokena, for the building site.
Building Description
Located on the eastern side of U.S. Highway 61, twelve miles south of Vicksburg, the Yokena Presbyterian Church is a frame, vernacular expression of Stick Style architecture. The one-bay by four-bay building rests upon brick foundation piers and is surmounted by a gable roof with overhanging eaves. The church is sheathed in narrow, wooden lap siding except for the triangle of the westerly gable-end facade which is finished with vertical beaded boards adorned with decorative "stick work" of applied diagonal boards and Elizabethan strapwork in the apex. The window openings of the side elevations have unmolded surrounds and are filled with six-over-six, double-hung sash that are closed by original shutter blinds. The single bay of the facade contains the entrance doorway which features an unmolded surround, a two-light transom of colored glass, and double-leaf doors with four molded panels.
The chief ornament of the interior if the exposed hammer-beam roof construction and the unpainted pine woodwork. The hammer-beam roof features collar braces that are segments of full circles that combine to create a low, wide vault. The ends of the hammer beams and the collar braces are decorated with finials. The walls are finished in diagonal beaded boards with a vertical beaded-board wainscoting, and the diagonal wall boards are arranged to form chevron patterns. A square-topped alcove, trimmed with a scalloped arch board with pierced corners, originally defined the pulpit area, but the alcove was pushed forward and made flush with the back wall when the rear Sunday school addition was constructed. The window and doorway openings have typical late nineteenth-century symmetrically molded surrounds with corner blocks, and the original pews are simple in design.
A non-intrusive, frame Sunday school addition with a hipped roof was constructed at the rear of the building in the mid-1950's.
View from west
