Austin Methodist Church

Austin Methodist Church, built in 1866, is one of Nevada's oldest surviving Methodist churches, if not the oldest, and Nevada's first church built outside of the Comstock. The brick edifice with Italianate bell tower was built during the pastorate of J. L. Trefren, who conceived an enterprising approach to construction financing. Trefren organized the New England & Nevada Silver Mining Company and sold stock based on the potential earnings of Austin's silver claims. The church was built and a fine organ was purchased (possibly the first church organ in Nevada) before the scheme collapsed. Mechanical engineer Daniel P. Bell served as supervising architect for the building, which was apparently designed by a California architect, and Bell may have been responsible for the building's innovative form. Today, this handsome building--one of Austin's trio of nineteenth-century churches--serves as the town hall.