Nashua, Iowa, is home to the Little Brown Church in the Vale. This church was organized in 1855, but the building wasn't completed until almost a decade later. During this period, William Pitts visited Nashua and wrote a song about a church he envisioned in this location. To his surprise, when he returned in 1864, he found the church completed and sang "The Church in the Wildwood".
The music for "The Church in the Wildwood" is printed on the above postcard. The music is written for four voices and appears to be in the key of B♭-Major. To hear renditions of this song, you can search YouTube for "The Church in the Wildwood", of which some follow the above music more closely than others.
--Abraham
Recently, I was rewatching the mid-90s TV series Christy in a fit of nostalgia, and one of the characters started singing "The Church in the Wildwood". It's a fun coincidence to find that we have more information about what had previously just been a pretty tune to me.
Posted by: Robin | July 06, 2011 at 11:47 AM