This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
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.
New Church
Cornerstone Ceremony
1859
1859
Watertown Democrat
The cornerstone of
the new church edifice to be erected by the members of St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church in this city will be laid on Thursday morning, September 22, at
The bishop and clergy
present, followed by the wardens and vestrymen, members of the congregation and
others, will move in procession to the grounds on Second Street, where the
cornerstone will be laid by Bishop Jackson Kemper with the usual services. The address will be delivered by 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 one side is the Latin cross resting on the monogram I.H.S. One another side, “St. Paul’s church,
The deposits in the
stone are as follows: A copy of the Holy
Bible; a copy of the Book of Common Prayer; a copy of the Constitution of the
Parish; a copy of the Journal of the last Convention of this diocese, a copy of
the Church Journal and of the Gospel Messenger; a copy of Watertown Democrat containing this article, and also copies of the
two German papers, viz: The Weltberger
and Volks Zeitung.
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.
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.
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
