This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
Website for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church Organized
1845
The
first service was held by Rev. Melancthon Hoyt in June, 1845. The parish was organized in 1847, and duly
incorporated February 13th, 1849.
1847
06 30
An
Episcopal Church, bearing the above name, was organized in this village some
two weeks since; and services may hereafter be expected every third Sabbath, in
the Methodist Church, by the Rev MELANCTHON HOYT, of the General Domestic
Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Mr. H. for the past eighteen months has
labored in the interior of this territory: but now preaches,
upon each alternate Sabbath, at Watertown, Whitewater and Fox Lake. The society here is as large as is generally
to be found in the interior of any new country, though the number of
communicants is small.
Three
years since there were but three preachers of the Episcopal denominations in
Wisconsin - now there are twenty-two.
Watertown
Chronicle
Cross
references:
The Episcopal Church is sometimes called The
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America
In
1845 Episcopal Priest Melancthon Hoyt began holding services in Watertown. He traveled on foot from Fox Lake. In 1847 he organized a small group of English
and Welsh settlers as the congregation of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
1847
The Journal of the Proceedings of the First
Annual Council of the Diocese of Wisconsin records that St. Paul's Church,
Watertown, had been organized on June 7 of 1847 and was thus exactly seventeen
days old when this council met in St. Paul's Church, Milwaukee. Another parish had been organized on the same
day, St. John's, Milwaukee, and thus these two churches came to this first
Council as newly organized twin parishes.
The minister of St. Paul's, Watertown, was the Rev. Melancthon Hoyt, who
also had Christ Church, Fox Lake and St. Luke's, Whitewater, under his
charge. The Watertown parish had only
five members at the time, but attendance at services is reported as more than a
hundred.
The original
church structure stood on 
Market
and Jefferson Streets. The cornerstone
of the present church was laid in 1859 by Bishop Kemper. The tower was added in 1890 by two
parishioners during the rectorate of the Rev. Dr. Jewell.
The
rectory was built in 1884 while the Rev. David Sanford was rector. Recent remodeling has made it a very
comfortable and enjoyable home.
In
1886 the chapel was given by Miss Susan Cady in
memory of her parents. About twenty-five
years ago it was de-consecrated and was used as a parish hall and the marble
altar was presented to St. Barnabas' Mission, Richland Center. In 1931 the present Parish House was erected
and is in memory of Mr. George Hawkins, who was largely responsible for its
erection. The chapel has since then been
reoccupied for services and St. Agatha's Guild has been working toward its
restoration.
One of
the most courageous moves of the parish was the dropping of the system of pew
rents in 1868, a bold move for those days, and the inauguration of the pledge
system. At the same time the rector's salary was doubled, truly a venture of
faith.
In the
same year the rector, the Rev. Dr. Dafter, organized a vested boys choir, not
so unusual today, but then distinctly rare, as there were only two other such
in the state, one in Janesville, the other at Racine College. The choir became immensely popular and St.
Paul's maintained a splendid choir down to about a generation ago. Today, like so many churches, the musical
efforts are largely congregational.
For a
church of its size St. Paul's has a very unusual pipe organ. It contains seventeen stops, nine of which
are from the original organ. Mr. George
Hawkins the donor, said: "The soul of the old organ is in the new."
Wagner, Harold Ezra, “The Episcopal Church in Wisconsin, 1847-1947. A History of the Diocese of Milwaukee,”
Courier Printing (Waterloo, WI), 1947, pp 262-263.
1848
02 23 Lots
4 and 5, block 15, on Third Street, in the residence of L. R. Cady, Esq., have
been selected as the site for the new Episcopal Church. The lots were donated by the Mill
Company. The location is central and
very pleasant. Watertown Chronicle
1849
The
parish was organized in 1847, and duly incorporated February 13th, 1849. The corner stone of the church edifice on Third Street
was laid by Bishop Kemper on the 21st of May, 1849. The church was consecrated by Bishop Kemper
on the 7th of November, 1849.
1858
10 21 A very desirable improvement is now being
made on Third Street in the way of building a sidewalk from Main Street to St.
Paul's Church. Hereafter in the rainy
seasons it will be possible to approach that house of worship without wading
through any amount of mud and any depth of water. WD
102
23 Annual
Sunday School [Christmas] Festival; the school is free to all, the
German, Irish and American child, each interested in learning his duty to his
Maker WD
1859
02 17 Rev. L. W. Russ, pastor, paid a Donation
Visit at his residence WD
04 28 Officers
elected WD
08 25 Builders should not pass by unnoticed the advertisement in this paper
calling for proposals for building a new church in this city. The members of St. Paul’s Church have long
found their house of worship too small to accommodate all who would like to
assemble there for Divine service and are making efforts to provide a larger
and better one. There is now a fair
prospect that they will succeed.
[advertisement] WHO WANTS WORK. Sealed Proposals will be received for ten
days by either of the undersigned for BUILDING A CHURCH in this city. Proposals must be made for building and
finishing the same entirely ready for occupation. Cash will be paid every three month. Plans and specifications can be examined at
the Jefferson County Bank.
—Daniel Jones, R. S. Little, A. L. Pritchard –
Building Committee, Watertown, Aug. 20th, 1859 WD
New Church Cornerstone Ceremony
1859
09
22/WD The corner stone of the
new church edifice, to be erected by the members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
in this city, will be laid on this Thursday morning, at half past 9
o’clock. The congregation will assemble
at their present edifice at 9 o’clock in the forenoon. The Bishop and Clergy present, followed by
the Wardens and Vestry men, members of the congregation and others, will move
in procession to the ground on Second Street, where the corner stone will be
laid by Bishop Jackson Kemper with the usual services. The address will be delivered by the Rev. L.
A. Kemper of the Nashotah faculty.
The
stone was prepared by Davidson & Green, of this city, and is fourteen
inches square. The cavity is eight
inches square by four deep. The stone
has this inscription: on side is a Latin Cross resting on the monogram I. H.
S. On another side, “St. Paul’s Church,
Sept. 22, 1859.”
The
deposits in the stone are as follows;
1st. A copy of the Holy Bible.
2d. A copy of the Book of Common Prayer.
3d. A copy of the Journal of the last Convention
of this Diocese.
4th. A copy of the Church Journal and of the
Gospel Messenger.
5th. A copy of the Watertown Democrat, containing
this article, and also copies of the two German papers, vis, The Weltburger and the Volks Zeitung.
The new church will be
built of brick, from the yard of D. S. Chadwick
of this city. It will be in the modern
Gothic style of architecture and when finished will be one of the most chaste
and beautiful structures in the state.
The whole length of the building, including recess chancel, will be
seventy-eight feet; length of the nave sixty feet; width of nave including
buttresses, thirty-eight feet. In
addition to the main entrance on Second Street, there will be a south entrance
through the tower, which projects eight feet from the main wall. The roof will be finished partly open. All the windows, which will be mullioned,
will be of stained glass. The choir will
be in the chancel. The building will be
warmed by a furnace and lighted by gas.
It will provide sitting for about four hundred people.
The
architect is James Douglas of Milwaukee.
The builders are Samuel Vaux and William Honey of this city. The masons are John and James Ford of this
city.
It
is to be completed by next July and will cost, when finished, including lot,
about four thousand dollars.
It
may be interesting to add a brief history of the parish.
The
first service was held by Rev. Melancthon Hoyt in June, 1845. The parish was organized in 1847, and duly
incorporated February 13th, 1849.
The
following named persons were the first elected Wardens and Vestrymen:
Wardens—William
Grange and Samuel Sutton.
Vestrymen—Laurence J. Fibert,
William M. Grange, Hobert Clifford, Daniel Jones, D. J. Pulling, W. H. Besley
and James Norris.
The corner stone of the
present church edifice on Third Street was laid by Bishop Kemper on the 21st of
May, 1849. The church was consecrated by
Bishop Kemper on the 7th of November, 1849.
The
Rev. Mr. Hoyt continued in charge of the parish until 1854. The church numbered then about thirty
communicants.
The
Rev. C. C. Edmonds was called to the rectorship of the church on the 13th of
August, 1854, and continued in charge one year.
Under his ministry nine persons were baptized and four confirmed.
The
Rev. L. W. Russ was called to the rectorship of the parish on the 23rd of
March, 1856. The parish then for the
first time became self-supporting.
During
the rectorship of Rev. Mr. Russ he has baptized seventy two persons, adults,
eighteen, infants fifty four. Thirty
seven persons have been confirmed. The
present number of communicants is seventy.
During this time the parish has contributed for parochial objects,
including the subscriptions for the new church, the amount of $7,204.74. And during the same period, but three years
and a half, the parish has contributed for various benevolent objects, extra
parochial, the sum total of $527.58. It
is believed that few parishes in the country, of the age and size of this, can
show a fairer record. To God be the
Praise.
The
following persons are the present officers of the church:
Rector—Rev.
L. W. Russ.
Wardens—Daniel
Jones and Abraham Medbury [Medberry], Jr.
Vestryman—Albert
L. Pritchard, W. H. Clark, Theodore Prentiss, R. S. Little, Peter V. Brown, H.
B. Gallup, and W. B. Folds.
It
may be proper to add that the seats in this church will be free to all. Persons selecting seats, however, will be
allowed to occupy them as long as they may attend the services of the church.
It
should be stated that the new building will be paid for when completed. No debt will be incurred to hereafter
embarrass the operations and cripple the energies of the church. No obligations of the past or enterprise of
the present will be allowed to cast a shadow over the fair prospects of the
promising future.
The
church established here fourteen year ago has steadily grown with the growth of
the city, within whose limits it has been planted, until it has become
necessary to enlarge the dimensions of its consecrated place of worship, so that
all who desire can assemble there and engage in acts of devotion. The welcome day which this happy and
encouraging state of things imposed on its members has been cheerfully and
gladly met and promptly discharged, and under the blessings and smile of God,
when the day shall again arrive, as it must, in which it will once more be
necessary to
build a yet more fit and beautiful Temple of Praise to the Most High, may our
successors find something in the example now set before them worthy of
remembrance and imitation. May the
Savior’s command, “Go and do likewise,” be mingled with soft whisperings of the
spirit’s voice, calling all to works of charity, beneficence, gratitude and
reverential thankfulness to Him from whom alone flows every good and perfect gift.
1860
05 03 Pastor Rev. L. W. Russ departure WD
1875
11 24 Thanksgiving service
1904,
12 16
The
bazaar by the ladies of St. Paul's Episcopal Church which opened at the rectory
last Tuesday and closes this (Thursday) evening is being well patronized, as it
deserves to be. The rooms are nicely
arranged and decorated in the rectory for the occasion - one being assigned for
the fine luncheon that is served afternoons and evenings, one to the grocery
and notions department, and one to fancy work and the candy stand. The ladies have on sale a fine line of
articles suitable for Christmas presents, as well as articles that are useful
in everyday housekeeping. They have still a number left and the public is cordially
invited to call and see them. The bazaar
(this Wednesday) evening promises to be especially interesting.
1908
10 23 The Harvest Home Supper held at Masonic
Hall WG
1909
02 19 The choir of St.
Paul’s rehearse Stainer's sacred
cantata, "The Daughter of Jairus" WG
1909
09 24 Memorial Service at St. Paul’s – 50th
Anniversary WG
A beautiful and impressive service
was held on Sunday, September 19, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, it being the
fiftieth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone. The Rt. Rev. W. W. Webb, D. D., bishop of the
diocese, was present, and delivered the memorial sermon at the morning service;
Canon H. B. St. George of Nashotah House gave a historical sermon in the
evening.
The church was recently
beautified by a number of memorial windows, which add greatly to the appearance
of the edifice. On Sunday there was a
profusion of flowers in every available spot until the interior was a veritable
bower [a shaded, leafy recess]. The
customary choir was augmented by the presence of Mr. and Mrs. William
Sproesser, Mr. and Mrs. Max Rohr, Mr. Edward L. Schempf, Mr. C. D. Wiggenhorn,
Miss Elsa Wiggenhorn and Miss Minna Sproesser, and some excellent music
rendered.
There
were present at the morning service quite a number of former members of the
parish who returned to be present at this service, among them were Mr. and Mrs.
George Fields and daughter, Mrs. Barnes of Ripon, Mrs. A. J. Earling, Mr. and
Mrs. Lawrence Fitch, Mr. J. J. Moulding of Chicago, Mrs. H. S. Howell, Miss
Howell, Mr. and Mrs. Smith of Milwaukee, Miss Grace P. Jones, Mr. and Mrs.
Harry Baum and daughter of Oconomowoc.
Fifty years
in anticipation seems a long, long waiting—in retrospect it is not so
endless. There are a few who have seen
the parish grow from a very small beginning to its present size, not large now,
but greater, more prosperous than when the people worshiped in the modest
little brown wooden church on Third Street.
When the present structure was completed and ready for occupancy it
seemed palatial by contrast.
The cornerstone was laid
on September 22, 1859, and it was a year later when the church was completed. It seemed very fitting that Mr. and Mrs.
Field should be present at this recent memorial service, as it was an
anniversary for them as well, their wedding being the first service held in the
church.
t More on 50th anniveresary t
St. Paul’s Church
Golden Jubilee
Watertown
Gazette, 09 24 1909
On
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1909, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of this city was 50 years
old and in honor of the event the golden jubilee religious services were held
at the church last Sunday, large congregations being present at all the
services. Rt. Rev. W. W. Webb, D. D.,
bishop of the Milwaukee diocese, was present and delivered an eloquent memorial
sermon at the 10:30 a.m. service. Rev.
H. B. St. George, professor at the Nashotah seminary, delivered the historical
address at the evening service at 7:30 o’clock.
CHURCH HISTORY
The
first Episcopal church in Watertown was built in 1847. Prior to that time the Rev. Melancthon Hoyt
of Fox Lake used to visit Watertown in the capacity of a missionary, walking
the entire distance, almost thirty miles, but in 1847 an organization was
effected with Lawrence J. Fribert and William M. Grange as wardens and Daniel
Jones, James A. Norris, Robert Clifford, David J. Pulling and H. Besley as
vestrymen.
The
first services were held by Mr. Hoyt in schoolhouses and later in a building
that was formerly a bowling alley and on the present site of John W. Cole’s
block in Second Street. The first church
was built in 1847 in Third Street at a cost of $600, most of the material and
labor being contributed. The present
church edifice was built in 1859 at the corner of Second and Spring streets at
a cost of about $6000, but many improvements have been made since that period. The cornerstone was laid on September 22,
1859, and the golden jubilee was celebrated Sunday, the Sunday before the
anniversary.
The
rectors since the establishment of the church are:
Rev.
Melancthon Hoyt, 1845 to 1854
Rev.
Charles Edward, 1854 to 1855
Rev.
Lorin W. Russ, 1856 to 1860
Rev.
William Green, 1860 to 1865
Rev.
William Dafter, 1865 to 1870
Rev.
F. W. Boyd, 1871 to 1879
Rev.
Harry Thompson, 1879 to 1881
Rev.
Horatio Gates, 1881 to 1883
Rev.
David A. Sanford, 1883 to 1885
Rev.
J. B. Finn, 1886 to 1889
Rev.
Frederick S. Jewell, 1889 to 1894
Rev. Myron
A. Johnson, 1894 to 1896
Rev.
H. S. Foster, 1896 to 1899
Rev.
Thomas C. Eglin, 1899 to 1904
Rev.
John Barrett, 1905 to 1907
Rev.
R. M. Laurenson, 1908 –
The
present wardens are Messrs. H. T. Eberle, Dr. F. C. Moulding
Vestrymen: Messrs. John Robinson, Robert Dent, Gustav
Buchheit, George J. Nichols, Edward L. Schempf, Richard E. Krueger, Herman H.
Beers, Constance D. Wiggenhorn.
Organist,
Mrs. Elizabeth Green.
THE
PROGRAM
The
program was a most excellent one and included musical selections by the church
choirs, Mrs. Elizabeth Green being the organ accompanist. Following is the program at these services:
Holy
Communion, 7:30 a.m.
MEMORIAL SERVICE, 10:30 a.m.
Evening
Prayer
Processional
Hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers”
Kyrie
Eleison Gounod
Gloria Tibi Gounod
Gratias
Tibi Gounod
Hymn “For All Thy Saints”
Sermon Bishop Webb
Anthem “O Praise the Lord of Heaven”
Offertory Doxology
Sursum
Corda Gounod
Sanctus Gounod
Benedictus Gounod
Angus Dei Gounod
Gloria in
Excelsis Gounod
Nunc
Dimittis
Hymn “Through the Night of Doubt
and Sorrow”
HISTORICAL SERVICE, 7:30 p.m.
Holy
Communion
Processional
Hymn “We Love Thy Place, O God”
Magnificat J. C. Marks
Nunc
Dimittis J. C. Marks
Hymn “Christ is Made a Sure
Foundation”
Sermon The Rev. H. B. St. George
Anthem “The Lord Reigneth,” Frey
Offertory Doxology
Hymn “Crown Him With Many Crowns”
Among those from out of town at
the services were . . .
1910
05 06 Mary E.
Boyd, wife of the late former rector Rev. W. F. Boyd, passed away WG
1956
11 27 A service of dedication and blessing was
held Sunday afternoon at the Cady Memorial Chapel
of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. For
several years, the work of restoration of the chapel has been underway. However, the project gained impetus this past
year when the chapel's original marble altar was returned and installed. Since that time a new communion rail has been
installed and the chapel has been carpeted.
The installation of the pews makes the chapel a self-contained unit for
worship accommodating 56 people. It is
used for daily services and the early mass on Sunday as well as for church
school.
1957
12 26 A 400-year-old chalice, the work of Benvenuto Cellini, was used at St. Paul's
Episcopal Church at the midnight Christmas mass and at the Christmas Day mass
at 9 a.m. The chalice was given in
legacy to the rector of the church, the Rev. Fr. William E. Krueger, by the Rt.
Rev. Benjamin F. P. Ivins, one-time bishop of Milwaukee. The chalice is of hand wrought silver which
forms the base, hammered silver leaf on the outside of the cup with hammered
gold leaf forming the interior of the cup.
When not in use at the church here it is kept in the vault at the
Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints in Milwaukee.
1959
01 09 Groundbreaking for an addition; a
church school classroom area of nine class rooms, a boiler room and storage
area WDT
12 159 Annual
“every-member canvass” WDT
2005, 07 24
Fire Extensively Damages St. Paul’s Episcopal
Firefighters
use ladder trucks to spray the roof and attic areas of St. Paul's Episcopal
Church with thousands of gallons of water in an effort to knock down flames and
halt progress of the blaze early Sunday morning (WHS_005_228)
Lightning struck
St. Paul's Episcopal Church during a severe late afternoon thunderstorm on
Saturday, July 23. Fire erupted in the
early hours of the next day, Sunday morning.
The beautiful church, located at the intersection of Second and Spring
streets, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The
fire started when the roof was struck by a lightning bolt, smoldering until
10:30 in the evening, when it spread from the roof to the steeple. Neighbors feared that some structure in the
area had been hit because of the severity of the lighting strike but police
were not able to find any such evidence upon investigating the concerns called
in to the department.
2006
Watertown Daily Times, 07 11 06
Mark
T. Moore has been appointed as full-time deacon in charge at St. Paul's
Episcopal Church in Watertown.
Moore
is returning to Wisconsin after formal pastoral training at Seabury Western
Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., where he received a master of divinity
degree in 2005, and is completing a master of theological studies with a focus
on preaching. He was ordained deacon in June and will be ordained priest in
December at St. Paul's.
Moore
served as chaplain of Rush North Shore Medical Center and has been deeply
involved in social justice and outreach projects such as Hilda's Place, a food
pantry, dining hall and temporary residence for homeless people and St.
Leonard’s House, a halfway house.
Moore's
strong, focus on outreach and community, based on a lifelong call to service
and ministry, make him particularly well suited to guide and coach the St.
Paul's family in developing programs to cater to the needy in the Watertown and
surrounding communities.
Moore's
appointment is the celebrated culmination of a year of commitment and focused
work to restore the St. Paul's Episcopal Church buildings, and rejuvenate its
membership, in the aftermath of the lightning-induced fire that destroyed a
major portion of the church building on July 23, 2005.
Joining
Moore in the move to Watertown is Mary, his wife of 31 years, and the couple
will make their new home in the St. Paul's rectory on South Second Street.
2006
Watertown Daily Times, 07
24 06
Fire sparks new spirit WDTimes article
Image Portfolio
Click to enlarge
2006, 01 17
Watertown Daily Times
Fire Gives Church 'New Beginning'
Officials
of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Watertown say a fire that damaged their facility
in July 2005 allowed the parish to start over with a clean slate and go forward
with plans for the future. A rededication ceremony will be held at the church
on Saturday at
Usually
when a fire damages a structure, those who use that facility run into a lot of
trouble when it comes to the future. But officials at St. Paul's Episcopal
Church in Watertown say the blaze that swarmed their facility this past summer
has been a blessing in disguise [ WHS_005_236
]
Cross references:
No 1: Daniel Jones was a church organizer
No 2: “ . I am on a pedestrian tour of two hundred
and sixty miles (going and returning). I left Nashotah on the business of the
Mission on Thursday morning of last week. On that day I walked (November 21,
1849) forty-one miles to the north-west of our Mission, passing through
Watertown on Rock river, which is one of our most populous inland towns. On the
7th the Bishop consecrated the church that has just been erected in this place.
The Rev. M. Hoyt is the Rector and Missionary. He depends for his support chiefly
upon the weekly offerings. There are about forty communicants. Watertown is
twenty-one miles west of Nashotah . .” [
“The Life of the Reverend
James Lloyd Breck, D.D.”, Chiefly from Letters Written by Himself, Compiled
by Charles Breck, D.D., New York: E. & J. B. Young, 1883]
No 3: DVD available of 1991 amateur VHS recording
of history and tour by Rev. M Fred Himmerich, rector, of St. Paul’s Church and
tower (45 min)
Compiled by Ken Riedl
