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HISTORY OF HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Serving the Thermopolis Community

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Everyone can’t help but notice the magnificent stained-glass window above our altar.

 

In 1905 Dr. Woodward and Gertrude commissioned Holiday to design three windows for the east wall of the chapel being built at Chestnut Hill Academy. The scheme depicted the Christmas story with a window each for the Magi, the Nativity and the Shepherds. At some point, after the scheme was installed, it was felt that the Shepherds window was inappropriate for the chapel’s dedication to the Epiphany. Therefore, in 1910, the Woodwards decided to replace it and the Shepherds was offered to the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Thomas, Bishop of Wyoming. The Bishop accepted the gift and placed the window in a small log church in Kelly, Wyoming, near Jackson Hole. A few years later, the town of Kelly was wiped out by a flood, and all was destroyed except the church. 

Woodward visited the church while on vacation and was dismayed to discover it was being used as a shop and gas station with the window still intact.

The rector of our church at the time, Rev. Pawla, heard of its plight and asked the Bishop if it could be moved to Holy Trinity. With the consent of the Bishop and the Woodwards, the parishioners went to Kelly and transported the window in an ox cart, a journey of 138 miles over the Rocky Mountains (Togwotee Pass) to Thermopolis. This story was communicated by Dr. Woodward himself to his daughter Winifred Holiday and is included in his own memoir.

 

Much has been written about the gifted artist Henry Holiday: his designs, use of color, and glass painting. We have a fine example of his work and a great story from our church’s history.

 

Bryant, G. (2014, August 13). Henry Holiday and the Woodwards of Chestnut Hill. Issuu. Retrieved July 12, 2022, from https://issuu.com/chevet50/docs/holiday_woodward

 

Woodward Family Portrait (1916), photographer unknown. Dr. George Woodward, far left, and Gertrude Woodward, far right with their children and dog in front of their home. Scanned photograph courtesy of the Chestnut Hill Historical Society.

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