The Essex Community Church in Essex, NY, was built by the Presbyterians in 1853 with stone from Willsboro Point at total cost of $10,000 (Belden Noble Memorial Library. Essex, New York: An Early History. Burlington, VT: Queen City Printers, 2003. 76). This new church replaced the group’s former wooden church that burned in 1818 (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 24). This stone church served those of the Presbyterian faith for many years until several local churches joined together.
The Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches joined on June, 20, 1922, forming the Essex Community Church, one of the earliest federations of churches in New York State. (Essex, New York: An Early History 77)
This federation prompted the discontinuation of services at the Methodist Episcopal Church and Essex’s first Baptist Church (this former church was destroyed by a fire in 1943).
A rededication for the Community Church was held in 1949—and later the church was rededicated again as a Methodist Church. Today, the building is occupied by the Essex Community United Methodist Church and still serves local and transitory members of the community.
Church Architecture and Details
The Federated Church (formerly Presbyterian) on the corner of Route 22 was built of native limestone in 1853. Its interior represents a remarkable survival of the Federal style into later periods. (Living Places)
Belden Noble hired architect T.S. Whitby to create plans for the perfect wedding gifts for his bride Adeline: a new rustic Italianate style church and a magnificent new mansion (Greystone: A Landmark On The Coast of Lake Champlain). These were the last historic structures to be built of stone in Essex (Historic Essex). Both were built out of locally quarried greystone, however it was not Essex mined stoned, but stone from nearby Willsboro; these are the only two stone buildings in Essex not of Essex stone (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 24). The blocks used on the mansion were smooth, dressed stone unlike the rustic finish of the Essex Community Church.
The walls are made up of random-sized stones, carefully laid, while large stone blocks frame the tall round-arched windows and door openings. The stonemasons carved each of the large blocks with smooth corners and rough faces in a traditional manner called rustication. The building itself is outlined at every corner by projecting rusticated quoins (the larger, interlocking blocks at the corners). (“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” 24)
Architect T.S. Whitby designed the exterior of the church in a rustic style that gave “the impression of a small but sophisticated church in an Italian village,” which took advantage of the sentiment at the time to capture the essence of the mid-Victorian desires for the “exotic and faraway” (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain 69).
The original interior of the Presbyterian Church was decorated in the Renaissance fresco manner, with polychrome painted plaster on nearly all the surfaces. The ashlar-painted walls were designed to look like stone block. The ceiling had a trompe l’oeil effect to make it appear to have a Renaissance dome. (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain 68)
On the exterior, iron cresting emphasizes the straight lines of roof (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain 68).
Built on land donated by Noble family, originally a wooden fence connected the church to the Noble family properties along Merchant Row (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain 70).
Interesting Facts
The original chandelier inside the church formerly held oil burning lamps to light the church in a time before electricity (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain 71).
During construction, the prominent three-story belltower had stone cut out on three sides for the faces of a clock, however, it was not until 1911 that the funds to purchase a clock and bell became available to the church (Images of America: Essex on Lake Champlain 70). Justice James S. Harlan and Maud Noble Harlan donated money to the church in honor of the recently deceased Adeline M. Noble. The clock in the tower is still functional and is maintained by the town.
Get a closer look at the inside of the tower and the antique clock mechanism in the video below. Plus get a view of the town looking out from the top of the tower!
There are also some interesting characters that were dedicated their time to the church over the years. I’m sure there are many more than the two mentioned here!
- Rev. George O. Webster served the federation from 1922 until 1941—he wrote at least 2,000 gospel songs and hymns (Essex, New York: An Early History 77). Keep an eye out for a future post featuring one of his hymns about Essex!
- Frank Morse served as the organist for the Presbyterian and then the federated Church for many years. He was mentioned by Robert Ripley in his “Believe it or Not” program saying: “Mr. Morse was organist for the church for 67 years without pay or vacation” (Essex, New York: An Early History 78).
Additional Resources
This map (with satellite image overlay) will help you locate the Essex Community Church and see how its location relates to other historic buildings in Essex’s historic district.
View Discover Essex on Lake Champlain in a larger map
To get on contact with the church call (518) 963-7766.
References
Belden Noble Memorial Library. Essex, New York: An Early History. Burlington, VT: Queen City Printers, 2003. Print.
Belden Noble Memorial Library. Essex, New York: Lake Champlain’s Historic Harbor. 1969. Print.
“Essex: An Architectural Guide.” Essex Community Heritage Organization, 1986.
“Essex Village Historic District.” Living Places. Ed. Julia Gombach. The Gombach Group, 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.livingplaces.com/NY/Essex_County/Essex_Town/Essex_Village_Historic_District.html>
Hislop, David C., Jr. Essex on Lake Champlain. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2009. Print. Images of America.
Hislop, David C., Jr. “Greystone: A Landmark On The Coast of Lake Champlain.” Antiques and the Arts Online. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. <http://antiquesandthearts.com/hh/hh698.htm>.
“Historic Essex.” Historic Essex. Essex Community Heritage Organization. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.essexny.org/>.
Smith, H. P. History of Essex County: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Syracuse, N. Y.: D. Mason &, 1885. Print.
Related articles
I just found a plate with a picture of this church on it. It was left by a former owner of our home. Now we have lived here about 20 years. On the back is a tape with the names Hazel Pauline (Bixby) McRaw married Victor Ezra Nichols Aug 26, 1961 . Is there any interest in this item?