Stone Church History

The Alma Community Church, affectionately referred to as the Stone Church, was built in the summer of 1936 primarily using volunteer labor after a wooden Union Church at the site burned down. It has always been a community-owned religious and community center. All the money and materials for construction were donated. The entire basement was dug in the first week of construction. Some of the stone is believed to be from a historic structure owned by the Tabors in the Buckskin Joe town site. The inside consists of an auditorium, stage area with a baptismal unit, and four small classrooms.  The classrooms have been remodeled into a bathroom, an office for the Mosquito Range Historical Initiative and storage areas.

The building has an unfinished basement although it once housed the congregation's pastor in a small apartment. The church was home to an Assemblies of God congregation in the 1960s. After falling into disrepair, the church saw a minor restoration in 1976 to host Erik and Beth Swanson's wedding (their families provided the materials and labor). Again it fell into a period of neglect but as one of the most treasured historic buildings in Alma was restored in the fall of 2004, thanks to efforts by the Alma Foundation, Town of Alma, and generous grants from the Colorado Historical Foundation and Park County Historic Preservation Advisory Commission.  It is on the state register of historic properties. Although often referred to as the “stone church,” the building has been used for a variety of functions including parties, meetings, weddings, funerals and more.

If you have information or pictures providing more history about the Alma Community Church we would love to hear and see them. Please send us a note using the 'Contact Us' form  or give us a call at  (719) 839-2362 .

Please join us Sunday and Tuesday evenings to experience this beautiful piece of history!

Sources for this history:

Town of Alma (http://townofalma.com/wordpress/about/

Alma Foundation (http://almafoundation.com/main-index/projects/)

Interview with Erik & Beth Swanson (July 2021)