Object description

The San Dionisio Church Ruins are a historic ruins on Route 2 in Umatac, Guam. They are the remains of a church that was built in 1862 and destroyed by an earthquake in 1892. It was built out of manposteria , and the surviving elements including buttresses rising to a height of 13 feet . The ruins are the only surviving remnant of the Spanish colonial headquarters complex that stood in this area. The first San Dionisio Church was constructed in 1681, but rebuilt after a fire three years later. That church was destroyed in 1849 by an earthquake, and portions may have been used in construction of the 1862 building. A new church was built in 1939. The ruins were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.