THE PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH OF VALATIE
COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK
By Capt. Franklin Ellis69
1878
The Presbyterian Church of Valatie was organized, Sept. 6, 1833, as the "Second Reformed Church of Kinderhook." In January, 1835, it became a Presbyterian body, having as elders George Brown, George P. Horton, John G. Schoemaker; deacons, Jacob D. Hoffman, Anthony J. Pulver, and Henry G. Scism.
The first church edifice was erected in 1834, at a cost of three thousand two hundred and sixteen dollars. It is a frame, forty-five by sixty-six feet, and was used by the society until June, 1878, when it became the property of the village for a public hall.
The present edifice is one of the handsomest in the county. It stands on a large and beautifully-located lot in the northern part of the village, and was begun in the fall of 1877, the corner-stone being laid October 18,; and the house was ready for consecration June 11, 1878. It is a brick structure, trimmed with blue limestone, and was designed after an old German cathedral. It consists of a main building forty-one by sixty-five feet, and a chapel at its eastern end twenty-five by fifty-three feet, and so arranged that it may be used in connection with the main room. The roofs are steep, and covered with variegated slate. In front of the building is a massive brick tower, through which is the main entrance to the church, and at the north end of the main vestibule is a covered driveway for the use of occupants of carriages in unpleasant weather. The windows are finely shaped, and contain beautiful stained glass. The ceiling of the church and the wainscoting are of plain spruce wood, and other wood-work is finely finished in natural colors.
The house is lighted by gas manufactured on the premises, and is in all its arrangements complete and convenient, having accommodations for seven hundred persons. It was erected under the direction of Charles H. Housman, D. Strain, and H. L. Miller, as a building committee, at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars.
The present officers of the church are: Trustees, Charles Wild, A. Magee, M. M. Miller, P. Blollier, James Van Alstyne, and J. B. Richmond; Elders, J. W. Peterson, D. F. Davis, F. Van Ness, and L. Lant; Deacons, L. Phelps and William Alston.
The pastors of the church have been Revs. David Cushing, Washington Roosevelt, J. Slocum, J. E. Rockwell, S. R. Dimmock, William Whittaker, C. T. Berry, George O. Phelps, J. C. Boyd, and (in 1878) Samuel Carlile.
In 1871, during the pastorate of Rev. George O. Phelps, a great revival occurred, resulting in more than one hundred and eight additions to the church membership.
A flourishing Sunday-school, having two hundred and thirteen members, is maintained by the church. Alexander Abbott is the superintendent. It has a library of more than three hundred volumes.
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