Stalker, Manchester Township The Kellam Presbyterian Church was commissioned in 1888. In 1912 it became a Methodist Church, and was deconsecrated in 1938, because the congregation decreased. (Kellam was renamed Stalker in the early 1900s.) The church was in disrepair for many years. Donald Marsden and his wife Mary purchased the building from Richard Ley in 1998, and had it restored. What was once the main body of the church is now the living room; painted completely white. The old altar windows have been incorporated with a new center window--giving the appearance the altar still remains. Shelves, holding their Indonesian puppet collection, and bookcases complement the window arrangement. In restoration, each piece of original wainscoting had been removed, and then either replaced or repaired. In the rear of the large room is a small kitchen, which is completely hidden from the main living room. A new winding staircase leads to the upstairs loft, and the contour of the balcony is mirrored after the dais. Six years ago the caretaker Ed Morse repainted the building. The old white pine siding was restored, and the pieces that were beyond repair where replaced. Since the old steeple was beyond restoration, a new steeple was added. The architects were Bret McKenna and Tanya Krawchuk; contractor, Joe Maloney. In 2004 the building received the Wayne County Historical Society's Historic Preservation Award. The building won second place nationally in the annual contest run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Also a photo article on it appeared in the May-June 2005 issue of Old House Journal.

This page was one month of the calendar and was made possible through the Wayne County Commissioners and a Tourism Promotion Committee’s Tourism Grant.