The Great American Eclipse: Part 6
Part 6 of 8
This church was the only structure in the Miller Cemetery. It was open to the public and kept in excellent repair. However I don’t think it is used for any regular scheduled serves. Attached to the wall was a wooden tablet that read;
MILLER CHURCH AND CEMETERY
Miller cemetery, part of the 1847 Richard Miller land claim, was given in 1860 to the Abiqua community by Miller in “love and consideration” as a public burying ground.
The church built in 1882, with a unique sloped floor is an example of a pioneer burying church. The pews dating from 1853 are from an earlier local church. Richard Miller was a member of the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention. The Miller home, often a community gathering place, was a refuge during the 1848 Battle of the Abiqua. This site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
I considered the year in which the church was constructed; 1882. What would the people of that time think of me? I had flown that morning from San Francisco to Portland in less than two hours. I had driven from Portland to Silverton in a private self-propelled vehicle capable of speeds up to 80 miles per hour. In my shirt pocket I carried a smart phone capable of instant contact to people anywhere on Earth, a device with which I could interact with the internet, a device that provided me with global navigation as well as photographic, video and sound recording. The folks who lived in 1882 wouldn’t have believed it. How could they have? I can’t believe it myself.
Show EXIF- Aperture: ƒ/4.5
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