This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
Website for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
1847
St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church Organized
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
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
New Church
Cornerstone Ceremony
1859
1859
02 17 Rev. L. W. Russ, pastor, paid a Donation
Visit at his residence WD
04 28 Officers
elected WD
September
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. 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 rehease Stainer's sacred cantata,
"The Daughter of Jairus"
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
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
