A Brief History
Turn back the pages of the written record and picture in your mind's eye the historic scene when the First Presbyterian Church of Niagara Falls was organized within sight and sound of "Nature's grand, sublime, supreme, supernal wonder."
Like the early settlers who named this community Manchester, after the important manufacturing center in Great Britain, those disciples of the Christian church were forward looking. They not only peered through the forest primeval which surrounded them, but they looked far into the future. On April 3, 1824, five citizens met under the leadership of the teacher-educator Rev. David Smith to form the First Presbyterian Church.The persons who were the actors in this scene were Mr. & Mrs. Isaac Smith, Mrs. Isaac Smith Jr., Mrs. Stephen Childs and Abraham Mesler.
First meetings were held in the log school house on what is now Prospect St. This building was used until 1831, when a wooden church building was erected at the corner of First and Falls Streets. The small wooden structure had no steeple with the bell displayed out front. That bell still rings in the current church bell tower. The building was later sold to the Methodists when the present church was erected out of native stone in 1849 at a cost of $8,000, including the cost of the lot.
The original Board of Trustees of the "First Presbyterian Society of Niagara" included some of the area's most prominent citizens and founders of Niagara Falls. In addition to the original five organizers was Augustus Porter, Samuel DeVeaux, Ira Cook and Ziba Gay. Judge Porter was the first permanent white settler of the area, and along with his brother General Peter Porter, owned Goat Island and all the lands in the area. The famous Native American, Chief Red Jacket and General Lafayette were frequent visitors to the Porter household.
The Rev. Horatio Parsons was the first regular pastor, and when Judge Samuel DeVeaux established the Sunday School in 1827, Mrs. Parsons, who was also the village schoolmarm, became the Sunday School teacher.
Miss Lavinia Porter, Judge Augustus Porter's daughter, donated her home at 162 Buffalo Ave. as the church's Manse in 1855. No longer owned by the church, the house still stands.
In 1879 a large addition was constructed at the rear of the church to house the ever-growing Sunday School. Originally called the Chapel,we now call it the Fellowship Room and it is largely in its original form. A growing congregation necessitated the enlargement of the Sanctuary in 1889 when a large addition was constructed on the south side of the church.
The beautiful stained glass window now in the Fellowship Hall (there's more information about the window later on this page) originally faced the Sanctuary andwas dedicated in 1922. Other major improvements include a new addition to the Chapel, the front entrance and a considerable change in the basement. This all resulted in a Library and the Fireside Room, as well as otheradded Sunday School classrooms. The Sanctuary was totally renewed in 1957 including new pews and an enlarged choir loft and newly-placed organ console.
Members of First Church have been instrumental in founding several of the other churches in Niagara Falls. Among those was the "Presbyterian Church" at 10th & Niagara Ave. in 1853; and those members also founded the Congregational Church at 822 Cleveland Ave. - however, in 1867 those persons asked to be re-admitted into membership at First Church. In 1893, Pierce Ave. Presbyterian Church was born in faith and prayer, when 20 of the original charter members brought their letter from the Mother Church. The Pierce Avenue church closed late in the 20th Century.
In the late 1920's the spirit again moved First Church to mission work at home and led to acquisition of property in the DeVeaux and Evershed sections of the city for branches of First Church. Third Presbyterian was merged into First Church and the new facility on 59th St. was named Bacon Memorial Church, in honor of Rev. Albert S. Bacon, who was pastor of First Church from 1890-1925, the longest serving pastor in the church's history.
In 1970 the church was scheduled to be demolished as part of the city's Urban Renewal program. Fortunately, the congregation's fight to save the building was successful and this magnificent facility still proudly stands as the symbol of Niagara's oldest church.
Many of our church records have been archived and are available for viewing on the Internet. Here's a link to the History site with this information: Link to public church records.
A description of the history of the church building - rather than a history of the congregation - can be found on the Niagara Falls Historic Preservation web site. Here's a link to the information.
A HISTORY OF THE SKINNER PIPE ORGAN
When First Presbyterian Church was housed in a small wooden church building in 1831, there was no organ at all. In fact, instruments were considered by some to only "cater to the wishes of the devil." By 1848,the church had installed one of the best organs of the time. By the1860's the organ was worn out, and for awhile the congregation and the choir sang with no accompaniment. During a period of dissension in the1870's a large parlor organ was brought into the church, and according toa news report at the time, "certain low-bred & evil-disposed persons did break into the church at night and did remove and secrete said organ." However, it was soon returned and was in use for another 12 years.
The old organ was felt to be inadequate and on 18 Dec. 1885, a pipe organ (catalogue #7) was purchased from, and installed by, Johnson & Son ofWestfield, Mass. for the (at the time) princely sum of $1975.00. Boys were hired for the salary of one dollar a month to pump the organ since there were no electric bellows. After many years of good use, this instrument began to show serious wear. It was in 1923 that the current organ was purchased from the E.M. Skinner Company. The Skinner organ was of excellent quality and had ranks of 1693 pipes which are unsurpassed in tone, even today.
For 50 years, the Skinner organ served the church well, and was rebuilt in the early 1970's and expanded by the Humphries Organ Co. of Bergholtz,N.Y. At the time, two new openings were made between the organ chamber and the sanctuary and part of the Great Division was exposed, in keeping with historical traditions of organ building. The old leathers, which had dried out and perished, causing many air leaks, were replaced by a new magnetic action. Nineteen stops, fourteen ranks, and 813 new pipes were added to make it possible to play a wider variety of music from all periods. It was a dramatic improvement when the rebuilt organ was dedicated in 1975.
In the 1980's gradually the parts of the organ not rebuilt in the 70's continued to deteriorate and the combination mechanism became undependable and finally unworkable. This time the air supply and volume control systems were rebuilt and a computerized action and 16 stops, 7 ranks, and 384 pipes (needed to balance the sound) were added. The total instrument was also carefully voiced, leading to the beautiful sound we are hearing today. This meticulous work was done by a fine local craftsman, William Hatzenbuhler, who was thorough and unusually creative and put considerably more into the job than was specified in the contract. The organ was rededicated in 1988.
On Sunday, August 29, 1993, the E.M. Skinner organ was dedicated to the memory of J. Stuart and Catherine Fleming, long time members of thechurch, who wanted no special recognition during their lifetime, but whose generosity in funding the rebuilding of the organ warranted a demonstration of our gratitude.
| 1923 | 1975 | 1988 | |
| # of Speaking Stops | 28 | 47 | 63 |
| # of Ranks | 28 | 42 | 49 |
| # of Pipes | 1693 | 2506 | 2890 |
The striking Memorial Stained
Glass Window was presented to the church by Mrs. William Gassler, Jr. in
memory of her father, Elder William Campbel in 1922. The illuminated window
was designed by Mr. Harry M. Bell, of Bell Vaughn Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
The Scripture quotation which appears at the bottom of the window is as follows: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in his way."
The artist's conception, as described in his own words, reveals in the foreground, "An angel with hand extended to lead a good man past some barrier, and with the strong pausing to help a weaker brother who has fallen. The path, which we must all tread, is somewhat dark, and the going is uphill and not too smooth, but we look forward to a different land, a land of delight. And so we have attempted to show a pathway thru a rough and shadowy land, a pathway not well defined, from which it is easy to stray and which is full of stumbling blocks, but a pathway, nevertheless leading onward and upward to a distant land of sunshine."
Once facing the Sanctuary, the Memorial Window can now be viewed from theFellowship Hall.
As you enter the Sanctuary you see the Celtic Cross at the front of the church. Sometimes it is called the Irish Cross, Wheel Cross, or the Cross of Iona. The circle represents eternity and the fact that Christ at the cross has eternal consequences in our lives. The Celtic Cross is the official cross of the Presbyterian Church.
Carved in the wood face of the pulpit is a cross, representing the Gospel, surrounded by the symbols of the writers of the four Gospels.
- Upper left: Matthew - Winged man with halo
- Lower left: Mark - Winged lion with halo
- Lower right: Luke - Winged ox with halo
- Upper right: John - Eagle with halo
Carved in the center panel of the Communion table is a symbolic representation of wheat and grapes, representing the bread and wine used at the Lord's Supper. Underneath are two sets of letters: IX, which are the first letters of the words Jesus Christ in Greek, and also XC, which stands for the name Christ. These two sets of letters indicate that the table is His table, to which he invites all who will, to come to receive forgiveness, new life, and salvation.
Ceiling Dome: In the ring around the stained glass dome are a number of symbols. Moving clockwise from the 12 o'clock position:
The triangle-represents by its three angles, the three-in-one of the Trinity. The Descending Dove-represents the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus in the form of a dove at His Baptism. The IHS- means Jesus, the first three letters as it is spelled in Greek. The Chalice with cross- represents the death of Jesus Christ symbolized in the wine of the Communion Chalice. The Celtic Cross- the eternal effect of the cross. The Crossed Keys- represent Peter (Matt.16:16) The crown and cross- stands for the crown which all who believe in Christ will one day receive because of the cross. (Rev.2:10) The XR- here written one on the other, are the first two letters in Greek of the word "Christ."
Finally, the stained glass windows along the sides of the sanctuary. Each little blue circle with the four lobes at the bottom of each window is called a Quatrefoil, symbolic of the four Gospels and its four writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.