ABOUT US (PART 2)
Friday December 13th, 2002
Chieftain photos/Mike Garrett
United Presbyterian Church's 100-year-old building
in downtown Trinidad will be vacated in March 2003
after being deemed structurally unsound. It would
cost nearly $300,000 to repair
Spirit of giving
Trinidad church in need receives gift from neighboring congregation
By MIKE GARRETT
The Pueblo Chieftain
TRINIDAD - In this season of giving, no gift has meant more to the local United Presbyterian Church congregation than a new home to replace its creaking 100-year-old building that has been deemed structurally unsound.
What the congregation could never have foreseen is that the gift would come in the form of the 111-year-old, but more structurally sound, First Baptist Church Building.
On the National Historic Register for historic buildings, the Baptist church, designed in a Richardsonian Romanesque style, opened in September 1891.
The two church denominations, whose historic buildings stand less than a mile apart, aren't always known for seeing eye-to-eye with their respective religious beliefs.
But in this case, Trinidad First Baptist Church, left with only eight members, voted to disband while expressing concerns about the fate of their church building.
A week after the vote, Baptist Church Moderator Vic Macaluso said he learned of the Presbyterians' plight. It wasn't long before his congregation decided to deed over its church building to the other denomination.
"When we first met about disbanding, we decided we couldn't go on any longer maintaining the church with only eight members. Then a week later, we heard about the Presbyterians looking for a new home," Macaluso said.
United Presbyterian Church Pastor Justin Schlesinger-Devlin said the easy manner in which the transaction occurred had to "be a gift from God."
What's left of the Baptist congregation has been invited to join the Presbyterians at their worship services and several have done so.
"We definitely plan to start attending their services, especially after they move into our old building, Macaluso said.
The United Presbyterian church has been in various stages of disrepair for some time.
"Before I came here a year and a half ago, there were noticeable cracks in the walls and we all knew something would eventually have to be done," said Schlesinger-Devlin.
An engineering study performed on the Presbyterian church revealed significant wall structural damage to the building. While determining the building was in no danger of collapse, church officials recognized it might be unsafe to continue holding services there indefinitely.
"It was an issue that would have to be addressed at some point and the longer we waited the more costly it would be," Schlesinger-Devlin said.
"My understanding is that at the point where the two large (west side) stain-glass windows are, (the walls) were pulling apart," he said. "There were also some drainage issues included. The engineer estimated that to fix the drainage and shore up the building by including giant tie-rods to hold the walls together would come to just under $300,000."
For a congregation averaging around 50 weekly members, such a repair bill was out of the question.
The Presbyterian membership voted to relocate to an existing property, but had a rude awakening upon learning current costs of Trinidad land and building renovation.
When Macaluso and his board heard about the Presbyterians' building search, they initially proposed having $150,000 placed into an escrow account to address the physical structure of First Baptist Church.
But, Schlesinger-Devlin said, "Our seed of faith fund was not anywhere near that amount and they thought our (national) denomination would pay for it which isn't the case."
Chieftain photos/Mike Garrett
Trinidad Baptist Church will be the new home
of the United Presbyterian congregation, after
a dwindling Baptist membership decided to
disband and deeded the building over to the
Presbyterians.
"Upon learning that, they decided to gift us their property, including the parsonage, with the understanding that our seeds of faith fund would go toward renovating and restoring their building and keep it as a place of worship and ministry," Schlesinger-Devlin said. "That was exactly what we were looking for."
After the agreement was signed, several longtime First Baptist Church members began worshiping at the Presbyterian Church.
Schlesinger-Devlin said the actual move-in date and first worship service in the new Presbyterian church will be March 2.
"Right now, we're in the process of drawing up the paperwork and in a week or two we will become official owners of that (First Baptist) property.
"This is one of those times where you just stand in awe at what we consider a miracle," he said. "We all truly believe that the hand of God was guiding us in this transaction. It's a sad time for First Baptist Church but it's also a happy time because they know their church building will continue to be a church. We have asked all of their membership to come and worship with us in the meantime to give them a home."
He said the Baptist Church building is structurally very sound but its main towers "need some tender loving care and its entryways need handicap accessible upgrades. Its slightly smaller sanctuary holds an estimated 120 people leaving lots of room for future growth.
The church also hasn't decided yet how to utilize the parsonage house.
"This has all happened so fast we're trying to take this one step at a time," said Schlesinger-Devlin.
History of the old Presbyterian Church Building
History of First Baptist Church Building (present location)
The following article gives the history
of the old United Presbyterian Church
building which is located at 224 North
Comnmercial:
On September 7, 1873, the Presbyterian Church in
Trinidad was founded by Dr. Sheldon Jackson. He
was appointed Superintendent of Missions in 1869
for the entire western United States. Jackson's name
has been prominent in the histories of hundreds of
churches west of the Mississippi, including many in
Alaska.
Originally the congregation - consisting of twelve members - met in Hatch's Hall that was located on Commercial Street. Six years later, in 1876, a small frame church was built that stood on the exact spot where the present church now stands. It was the only church located on North Commercial, an area of town that would also include twenty-two saloons from Main Street to the bridge. Prior to 1894, one of those saloons, located direcdy across the street from the church, had an electric piano that sometimes drowned out the sounds of hymns being sung by the congregation.
On October 11,1901, an announcement appeared in the Chronicle-News stating, "At the close of the service at the Presbyterian church yesterday morning, a ShOll business meeting was held at which it was decided to buy the strip of land just north of the present church and erect a new building on this and the present site." On January 28, 1902, a newspaper article reported that the work of tearing down the original church had begun. The contract for the basement walls was let to Mr. William McDonald and was to be completed by April 1. On March 22 the church's board of trustees opened the bids for the superstructure of the new church and the contract was awarded to Crouch & Smith for $7,200.
On April 3, with the raised basement walls completed, the cornerstone was put in place. Copies of the Trinidad daily newspapers, the Trinidad Church News, and a list of the members of the church were included in a sealed container. On July 4 the roof was nearly completed and by July 31 the plasterershad finished their work and window frames were being put in place. All was in readiness when the first service was held in the new edifice on September 28, 1902. The Daily Advertiser's Tuesday, September 30 edition stated, "Sunday morning the first service was held in the auditorium of the new Presbyterian church, there being a large and appreciative audience present. The choir was composed of sixteen voices and everyone seemed to be at their best." "The total expense of the building including walks, furniture, art glass and furnace has been
$12,655."
The design of the church has been accredited to Reverend Theodore S. Hawley, who came to Trinidad in 1900. Reverend Hawley was born in Carthage, Illinois on April 14, 1854, grew to manhood there and attended Carthage College. He completed his education with a course in architecture. On November 27, 1879, he married Margaret M. Miller and they moved to Topeka, Kansas where it was said he designed the town's post office building. In the early 1880's Hawley left his architectural tools behind and took employment with the Santa Fe Railroad and from 1890 to 1893 with a railroad in South Dakota. In 1894 he went to Chicago and entered the McCormick Theological College and was ordained a minister that same year. Upon completing his ordination Reverend Hawley held pastorates at various cities in the middle west. He was at Omaha, Nebraska from 1897 until he came to Trinidad.
A biographical account of the Hawley family appeared in the September 28, 1930 edition of the Chronicle-News. In part, the article stated, "It was here that Rev. Hawley found the little wooden shack that served for a Presbyterian church, the church that had so long been the preaching edifice of the eminent Sheldon Jackson. Rev. Hawley visioned a fine, new church and set about the task of making this vision a reality. So it was that he fell back upon his earlier knowledge of
archit_cture and designed and supervised its actual construction." ,
Of interest is one other documented building that was partially the work of Reverend T.S. Hawley. Adjoining the fire station, just to the north, was the two-story, Morgan Building built in 1904. It was constructed of rough sandstone blocks and contained a marvelous, canted bay window that was designed by the Reverend. The Chronicle-News stated that, "It was the prettiest in the city." Unfortunately, the building was destroyed in 1945 and replaced by a commonplace, one-
story brick structure.
It was on June 3, 1904, that a pipe organ was installed and a special concert was preformed in the church. So much for the noisy electric piano at the bar across the street! In February of 1913, it was announced that the church would receive a thorough refinishing and frescoing. The pastor's study was completed and the auditorium was entirely redecorated. The basement was remodeled and in place of the old furnace a new steam heating plant was installed. Then in the autumn of 1933, additional redecorating again took place. The walls and ceiling were done in a modernistic style, a unique design and blending of "color-moresco work" in a very high standard of artistic finish. In front of the balcony is what is known as "Vernes Martin," a gold background with green baize, and pews and the entire interior and its appurtenances were touched up. The decorating was done by Jack (The Painter) Farrell, who completed it in three weeks.
The structure Reverend Hawley designed for the congregation is a fine example of Victorian Gothic architecture. One of the most distinguishing features of this style is the polychromatic exterior finish. Constructed of red brick, the building's facade is highlighted by smooth and rough faced sandstone surrounds of the lancet arched windows and doors. Although long since removed, the two towers were at one time capped by castellated parapets. High above, on the sides of the main tower, insets of a trefoil design are to be found. On September 28, 2002, one-hundred years to the day of the building's completion, the handiwork of Reverend Theodore S. Hawley remained as an outstanding contribution to Trinidad's architectural heritage.
Ken Fletcher, November 2002
The following article gives the history
of the present United Presbyterian
Church building; orginally the First
Baptist Church building located at
811 San Pedro.
The history of the establishment of a Baptist congregation
in Trinidad, by early reports, was filled with frustration. The
first organized Baptist church came about in 1878 under
the direction of Reverend J. M. Johnson. It continued for
about six months into the spring of 1879. This was the
time that the Santa Fe Railroad built into the city and on
south into New Mexico. With the railroad went half of the membership of the church. This so weakened the organization that it soon ceased to exist. Five years would pass before a renewed call was made for a church, taking advantage of the presence of Reverend Doctor Pope Yeaman. A meeting was called on November 3, 1884 to organize a congregation. It was held at the M.E. Church South whereby twelve people arose and signified their willingness to become members of a new Baptist congregation. A resolution was passed stablishing the church and the small assembly rented space in a new brick building, known as Rankin Hall, on North Commercial.
By 1887, the congregation had grown to the point of requiring a building of its own. To secure a central location, one that would accommodate the people on both sides of the river, was the difficulty. The matter was finally resolved on September 27, 1887, when lots Nine through Twelve in Block Three of the Baca Addition were purchased for $1,150. It would be almost two-and-a-halfyears before plans would be drawn up for a church.
On February 1, 1890, the Trinidad Daily News reported, "Bulger & Rapp are busy drawing up plans for a Baptist chapel, to be built on the comer of Colorado Avenue and San Pedro Street. It will be 30x60 and will cost in the neighborhood of $4,000." Upon completion of the foundation a contract for the stone work, in the sum of $2,500, was let to Sullivan & Allison on August 15.
With the laying of the cornerstone, on September11, the Daily News gave a lengthy description, including a report by E. Brigham, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. One of those paragraphs contained the following: "Since the organization of the church many Baptist people have come and gone. Among those who have come - as we hope to stay - are Brother C.W. Bulger and wife. The firm of Bulger & Rapp, architects and builders, are doing more for Trinidad today than almost any firm in the city, to stimulate improvement, to foster and encourage building, to beautify a city by fine homes and churches."
An additional paragraph from that report proves to be highly interesting. "Those who have seen the design of this chapel - the laying of the cornerstone, for which we today have assembled to celebrate pronounce it a model chapel. This building 43X63 is but a part of the building as designed. This chapel will cost perhaps $5,000, the main building will probably cost in addition from $15,000 to $18,000. The design is such that it may be adjusted to meet the demands of the church in its future growth and in keeping with its necessities."
The Evening Chronicle for September 11 contained the following description of the building:
The church will be of that style of architecture which it is difficult to describe without using those technical terms which are not generally understood, but in brief the part now building is only a small portion of what will sometime be the finished church.
The main entrance is through a tower at the corner, which is about twenty feet in diameter, twenty-seven feet to the top of turrets, and forty-six feet high.
In the gable end, fronting on San Pedro street, is a beautiful rose window, eight feet in diameter, filled with beautiful stained glass. The vestibule in the tower is also lighted by a stained glass window over the main entrance and there are twenty-three smaller stained glass windows in the building.
The building is entirely of stone, the tower and gable end being in broken ashlar work while the lower courses and rear are range work.
The auditorium is 30xSO feet with a seating capacity of 300. Back of the pulpit and rostrum is a pastor's study upon one side and a robing room upon the other. The choir and organ are in a recess back of the rostrum. Over the study and robing room is a ladies' parlor opening into the auditorium with Gothic columns, which will be used a lecture room and in case it is need can be used for seating a part of the congregation.
The plans provide for a beautiful baptistry under the rostrum, and what is now the rear end of the audience room is filled in with an arch which, when the main church is erected will be taken out, making a lecture room of the present building. When this is done the main front of the church, will be on Colorado Avenue.
The completed "chapel" was opened to the public on September 20, 1891 and was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. As we know today, more than one hundred years since the "chapel" was completed, the structure - as initially proposed - was never built. Recently, an architect's drawing of the complete building was discovered in a Chronicle-News publication that was printed in the early 1920's.
Ken Fletcher, November 2002
