Mount Zion Methodist Church (Somers, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Mt. Zion Methodist Church
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West profile and south elevation, 2008
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| Location | Somers, New York |
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| Nearest city | Danbury, Connecticut |
| Area | 1.4 acres (5,700 m2) |
| Built | 1794 |
| Architect | Micajah Wright |
| Architectural style | Federal, Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000692 |
| Added to NRHP | May 10, 1990 |
The Mount Zion Methodist Church is located on Primrose Avenue (NY 139) in Somers, New York, United States. It's an old white church built in the late 1700s. It got a big makeover around 1860. Sadly, in 1970, it was badly damaged.
This church is the oldest in Somers. It was very important for starting the Methodist religion in New York, especially in northern Westchester County. The church group stopped meeting in the late 1800s. Now, the town owns the building and its graveyard. In 1990, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a special historical site.
Contents
Exploring the Church Property
The church building sits on a small piece of land, about 1.4 acres. It's on the east side of Primrose Avenue, just south of Reis Park. The church is on a small hill, which makes it stand out from the road. The graveyard is on three sides of the church. Stone walls mark the edges of the property, except for the front.
The Church Building
The church is a two-and-a-half-story building made of wood. It measures about 30 by 40 feet. It sits on a stone foundation. The church doesn't have much decoration or a tall steeple. There's a small brick chimney on the north side. The roof is covered with asphalt shingles and has an overhang.
All the windows on the east and west sides have 12 small panes of glass. There are only two windows on the north and south sides. A small window is also found in the pointed part of the roof. The main entrance is in the middle of the front (south) side. It has two doors with a fancy frame around them.
Inside, a narrow entryway leads to a main hall. Two small stairways on each side go up to the gallery. The gallery is supported by four simple columns. The floor inside is made of plain pine wood and is not painted. The lower part of the walls has wooden panels. The upper walls are covered in plain white plaster.
The first floor has three sets of benches. Most of them face the pulpit, which is where the preacher stands. The pulpit is a raised wooden platform with a stand for reading. A couch made of mahogany wood and horsehair sits against the wall. A wooden railing with small posts runs along the front of the pulpit. Cast iron stoves used for heating are near the south end of the church.
The gallery floor is made of wide pine boards. Its three rows of benches all face the pulpit. A chandelier with four lamps, which used to burn kerosene, hangs from the ceiling.
The Church Graveyard
The graveyard has many graves placed close together. They are well cared for. The oldest graves date back to 1793, and the newest are from 1959. They show how grave designs changed over time. The 11 oldest graves, up to 1816, are made of brown sandstone. They are shaped like arches with decorative tops. There isn't much art on them, except for an urn on one.
Marble headstones are the most common type, dating from 1812 to 1908. These can be split into three groups. The most common ones, from 1812–1929, are plain stones with block letters. A smaller group from 1819–1863 are more fancy, with urn and willow tree designs. They also have Italic writing. A small group from the Civil War period are the most decorated. They include designs like books and chain-and-tassel patterns. One grave of a Union Army soldier even has a cannon carved on it.
Granite was used for most of the later graves. Many of these are larger, shaped like pyramids or pedestals. There are three family plots in the graveyard. One of them is only marked by its original fence posts.
A Look Back: Church History
Methodism arrived in the American colonies before the American Revolution. It continued to grow during and after the war. Before churches were built, Methodist preachers traveled in "circuits." These were groups of towns where they had followers. Later, the church officially adopted this way of organizing.
In 1787, the New Rochelle Circuit was officially started. This was the third Methodist group in New York and the first in Westchester. When the Somers church was built in 1794, it was the first church of any kind in that town. It was also the fifth of seven churches on the New Rochelle Circuit.
All these early churches were built to be very simple. This saved money and fit with the Methodist beliefs at the time. Many were simple white wooden buildings, looking more like houses or barns than churches. Only their large windows hinted at their use. Of the original seven, only Mt. Zion and the Bethel Chapel in Croton still look mostly as they did back then.
As Methodism became more popular, the churches grew. The circuits were often changed. Mt. Zion became part of the Croton Circuit in 1803. Six years later, it joined the Cortlandt Circuit. In this role, it was the main church for the towns around it. One of its mission churches, the West Somers Methodist Episcopal Church, also has its old building listed on the National Register.
This continued until the 1840s. Then, churches in Shrub Oak and Peekskill got their own circuit. In 1860, the church had a major update. It added some decorations and changed the pulpit and gallery.
Mt. Zion's influence continued in rural towns to the north and east until 1861. At that time, the Lewisboro church became separate. Mt. Zion's influence then became purely local.
Because of this, and the growth in towns due to the New York and Harlem Railroad, the number of church members started to shrink. It had a comeback in the 1880s with new pastors and a hundred new members. However, the building of the New York City water supply system in northern Westchester ended this growth. The land bought for the reservoirs forced many local farmers, who were the main members, to move away. The last regular services were held in 1897.
The church building was then looked after by the Methodist group in nearby Katonah. They maintained it for a while in the early 1900s. They also held yearly anniversary services there. These services stopped after 1930, and the building began to fall apart. In 1970, it was badly damaged. Its original mahogany pump organ and the railings around the pulpit were destroyed. The original windowpanes were also smashed.
Three years later, in 1973, the town bought the church from the Methodists. This was done to stop further damage and to keep it as a historic site. Today, the Somers Historical Society takes care of it. In the late 1980s, a land developer gave the town 16 acres of nearby farmland. This land became open space, which helped protect the church's surroundings.
Images for kids
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West profile and south elevation, 2008
