Peekskill Presbyterian Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Peekskill Presbyterian Church |
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South elevation, 2008
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Presbyterian |
| Leadership | Rev. Stephany Graham |
| Location | |
| Location | Peekskill, New York, US |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1846 |
| Completed | 1846 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 85 feet (26 m) |
| Width | 40 feet (12 m) |
| Materials | wood |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | December 4, 2002 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 02001400 |
The Peekskill Presbyterian Church is an old church in Peekskill, New York, USA. It's built in a style called Greek Revival, which looks a bit like ancient Greek temples. The church was built in 1846 because the first church building, which started in 1799, became too small. The church group officially formed in 1826.
Over the years, the church has been updated and made bigger, but it still looks a lot like it did when it was first built. The church even has its original bell from the late 1700s! In 2002, the church and some other buildings on its property were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites.
Contents
The Church's Location and Look
The church stands on a 1.2-acre (4,900 m2) piece of land at the corner of South and Washington streets in Peekskill. The ground rises quite a bit from the street, and there's a four-foot (1.1 m) stone wall in front. From the church, you can see a great view of the Hudson River and the mountains nearby.
The church building is one story tall and made of white wood. It has a pointed roof supported by four large columns. In the front, there's a tall bell tower with an electric clock. The sides of the church have large windows.
The Bell Tower
The bell tower has four parts. The first part is the main entrance, with columns and a triangular top. The second part holds the clock. The third part is where the bell is, and it has fancy columns. The very top part is an eight-sided spire with a weathervane.
Inside the Church
When you go through the front doors, you enter a small hallway. From there, stairs lead up to a balcony, and other doors open into the main church room, called the sanctuary. This room has a high, flat ceiling and wood panels on the walls. The windows have their original wooden frames and inside shutters.
Other Buildings on the Property
Besides the church, there's another building called the Fowler House. It's a two-and-a-half-story building used for church offices. There's also a cemetery on the property, which is about 32-by-45-foot (9.8 by 13.7 m) and surrounded by an iron fence. It has old gravestones, with the newest ones from the late 1800s. Both the Fowler House and the cemetery are also considered important historical parts of the property.
A Look Back: Church History
The church started meeting informally in 1799 in a smaller building on the same spot. The bell, made by a company in Albany, was put in the church soon after it opened. It was probably rung to mark the death of George Washington around that time. In 1826, the church officially formed with 16 members, mostly women. The Peekskill church was one of the first to let women serve as church leaders, called elders.
By the 1840s, the church was very crowded, with about 100 people attending Sunday services. One of the regular attendees was a boy named Chauncey Depew, who later became a famous railroad president and a U.S. Senator. In 1841, some members left to start another church, possibly because they didn't like the very strict pastor at the time.
Building the New Church
Even with some people leaving, the original church was still too small. So, in 1846, the old building was replaced with the main part of the church you see today. The architect who designed it is unknown, but they used the Greek Revival style. The clock on the tower was paid for by people in the community. For many years, it was the main public clock for the village of Peekskill.
In 1858, a back section was added, which included a small chapel and a lecture room. This area was mostly used for the church's Sunday school. As Peekskill grew, so did the church. In 1869, the two Presbyterian churches in town reunited.
The church continued to make changes. In 1884, they rebuilt and expanded the lecture hall. Eight years later, in 1892, the main church room was updated. The seating was changed, and an organ was added. Most of the inside decorations and pews in the sanctuary are from this time. The Fowler House was given to the church in 1911.
In 1920, the two Presbyterian churches finally merged. They sold the property of the former Second Church, which gave them enough money for a new organ and to redecorate the main church room. This brought the sanctuary to how it looks today.
The church used these updated facilities for many years. In 1964, they needed more space, so the Christian Education Building was added. A special fund allowed them to replace the old clock, which had stopped working, with an electric one in 1968. A new organ was put in in 1971.
The Church Today
The Peekskill Presbyterian Church has become much more involved in community life in recent years. It worked with other churches to create the Inter-Faith Housing Corp., which helped build affordable homes in 1970. The church also runs a thrift shop and hosts meetings for local Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the church's old bell, which had rung for George Washington's death, was rung again to remember the victims.
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