St. Philip's Church in the Highlands
Encyclopedia
St. Philip's Church in the Highlands
is an Episcopal
church located on New York State Route 9D
in the hamlet of Garrison
, New York
, United States
. It is a stone Gothic Revival
building designed by Richard Upjohn
, a congregant of the church, opened in 1865.
The church itself has a long and complex history, dating back to colonial times
. Its development has paralleled and sometimes spurred that of the Garrison community itself, and it was accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982. However, the church itself objected, and it was not formally added to the Register until 1995.
was granted charter
by King George III. The wardens
, Beverley Robinson
and Charles Moore, decided to establish a parish
to the north, in the area known as Four Corners, to serve families in that area. After a short period in another church and a parishioner's home, a small wooden chapel
was built where the present church stands. The current graveyard was also started at the same time. The new complex was possibly named St. Philip's in honor of the Philipse family, original patentees
of the area and Robinson's in-laws.
The Rev. John Doty, the first rector
of both churches, left for Nova Scotia
after a few years as he was a staunch Loyalist
in an area increasingly divided over revolutionary
politics. Robinson, too, declined an invitation from his friend John Jay
to swear allegiance to the newly-created United States, and actively worked to support the British by organizing the Loyal American Legion and coordinating intelligence
-gathering efforts. His lands and home were eventually confiscated by the new government of New York, and he left for England after the war, never to return.
A similar fate would befall half of St. Philip's families, and the church was so despised locally for its Tory associations that legend has it a mob came together to burn it down
at one point during the later years. They were supposedly dissuaded from doing so by George Washington
himself, who stood at the door and said "That, sir, is my church!" In gratitude the stained glass
window in the church's vestibule
depicts him.
, who had taken over from Robinson as both landowner and warden, had the altar and interior refurbished. Six years later the parish received its first new minister, the Rev. Andrew Fowler, who himself left after a few years to help establish the Episcopal Church
in South Carolina
.
Garrison Union Free School
, erected for local families in the 1830s, still stands and has been moved across Route 9D. The church was rebuilt in 1837. In 1840, with Garrison and the church itself becoming populous enough to rival Peekskill
and St. Peter's, the parish was separately incorporated. A board and batten
rectory
was built in 1854.
and a desirable place to live for some of the most socially prominent families of the day, many of whom were congregants. Hoffman saw that the growing church needed a new building.
His congregation responded. Henry Belcher donated three acres (1.2 ha) for the building and grounds, and others raised $10,000 for its construction. The design came from another worshipper at St. Philip's, Richard Upjohn
, already famous for Manhattan's Trinity Church
. The new structure, a one-story Gothic Revival building of gray granite
, was finished in 1861 and consecrated
the next year.
In the decades afterwards, a carriage house
and shed were built near the church. At the turn of the century, a parish house was built.
and then home to the Graymoor Friars
, who left Anglicanism for the Roman Catholic Church in 1909. St. Philip's insisted it retained title to the land (now at the junction of US Route 9, NY Route 403
and the Appalachian Trail
) and it took an act of the state legislature to settle the dispute in favor of the friars. The animosity lingered for many years.
The year before the Friars left, St. Philip's had received a new rector, the Rev. Edward Clowes Chorley. He wrote a two-volume history of St. Philip's and other churches and would, years later, serve as editor-in-chief of Anglican & Episcopal History
. While in Garrison he oversaw the installation of electricity
and gas lighting
in the building and the introduction of a boys' choir
. Outside the church, Chorley oversaw the replacement of the original rectory in 1911, and then a sexton
's house six years later. All are today considered contributing properties
to the National Register listing. During this time, he also helped to found Garrison's volunteer fire department
.
A kindergarten
was later established at the church until it was moved into the expanded school facilities in the 1960s, when the nursery school
program was established. William Reisman, who began a 27-year tenure as rector that same year, modernized and redecorated many of the buildings, adding protective covers for the stained-glass windows. He also began adult education
classes at the church and updated Chorley's history to the 1970s.
Under his successor, Francis Geer, the current rector, the church has installed a new pipe organ
and replaced the roof and interior floor of the parish house, used as a meeting for many of Garrison's community groups. A memorial garden has been built north of it, to serve as a greeting area after services.
Hudson Highlands
The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York, between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, which form the northern region of the New York - New Jersey Highlands....
is an Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
church located on New York State Route 9D
New York State Route 9D
New York State Route 9D , also known as the Bear Mountain – Beacon Highway, is a north–south state highway that runs along the eastern shore of the Hudson River in New York in the United States. It starts at the eastern end of the Bear Mountain Bridge at U.S...
in the hamlet of Garrison
Garrison, New York
Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown and is on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a stone Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building designed by Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
, a congregant of the church, opened in 1865.
The church itself has a long and complex history, dating back to colonial times
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
. Its development has paralleled and sometimes spurred that of the Garrison community itself, and it was accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982. However, the church itself objected, and it was not formally added to the Register until 1995.
Colonial era and Revolution
The church was originally established ca. 1770 when St. Peter's Church in PeekskillPeekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
was granted charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
by King George III. The wardens
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
, Beverley Robinson
Beverley Robinson
Beverley Robinson , a wealthy colonist from New York, was a son of the Hon. John Robinson of Virginia, who was the President of that colony. He is mostly remembered as the commander of the Loyal American Regiment, a loyalist regiment in the American War of Independence and for his work with the...
and Charles Moore, decided to establish a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
to the north, in the area known as Four Corners, to serve families in that area. After a short period in another church and a parishioner's home, a small wooden chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was built where the present church stands. The current graveyard was also started at the same time. The new complex was possibly named St. Philip's in honor of the Philipse family, original patentees
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
of the area and Robinson's in-laws.
The Rev. John Doty, the first rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of both churches, left for Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
after a few years as he was a staunch Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
in an area increasingly divided over revolutionary
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
politics. Robinson, too, declined an invitation from his friend John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
to swear allegiance to the newly-created United States, and actively worked to support the British by organizing the Loyal American Legion and coordinating intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
-gathering efforts. His lands and home were eventually confiscated by the new government of New York, and he left for England after the war, never to return.
A similar fate would befall half of St. Philip's families, and the church was so despised locally for its Tory associations that legend has it a mob came together to burn it down
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
at one point during the later years. They were supposedly dissuaded from doing so by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
himself, who stood at the door and said "That, sir, is my church!" In gratitude the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
window in the church's vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
depicts him.
Post-Revolution
For the first few years of American independence, the church lay vacant as it and the community began to rebuild. In 1786 William DenningWilliam Denning
William Denning was a United States Representative from New York. Born probably in St. John's, Newfoundland in April 1740, he moved to New York City in early youth and engaged in mercantile pursuits...
, who had taken over from Robinson as both landowner and warden, had the altar and interior refurbished. Six years later the parish received its first new minister, the Rev. Andrew Fowler, who himself left after a few years to help establish the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Garrison Union Free School
Garrison Union Free School
Garrison Union Free School, also referred to as just Garrison School, educates students from kindergarten through eighth grade in the eponymous school district, which covers the hamlet of Garrison and nearby areas of the towns of Philipstown and Putnam Valley in Putnam County, New York, United...
, erected for local families in the 1830s, still stands and has been moved across Route 9D. The church was rebuilt in 1837. In 1840, with Garrison and the church itself becoming populous enough to rival Peekskill
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
and St. Peter's, the parish was separately incorporated. A board and batten
Batten
A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...
rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
was built in 1854.
New building
A new pastor, the Rev. Charles Frederick Hoffman, arrived in May 1860. The completion of the Hudson River Railroad through nearby Garrison Landing had made the community more accessible to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and a desirable place to live for some of the most socially prominent families of the day, many of whom were congregants. Hoffman saw that the growing church needed a new building.
His congregation responded. Henry Belcher donated three acres (1.2 ha) for the building and grounds, and others raised $10,000 for its construction. The design came from another worshipper at St. Philip's, Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
, already famous for Manhattan's Trinity Church
Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
. The new structure, a one-story Gothic Revival building of gray granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, was finished in 1861 and consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
the next year.
In the decades afterwards, a carriage house
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
and shed were built near the church. At the turn of the century, a parish house was built.
20th century
The early years of the 20th century would be marked by a bitter controversy within the church when a chapel established to the east of the mountains inland became first the site of a monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and then home to the Graymoor Friars
Society of the Atonement
The Society of the Atonement, also known as the Friars and Sisters of the Atonement or Graymoor Friars and Sisters is a Franciscan religious congregation in the Latin Rite branch of the Catholic Church...
, who left Anglicanism for the Roman Catholic Church in 1909. St. Philip's insisted it retained title to the land (now at the junction of US Route 9, NY Route 403
New York State Route 403
New York State Route 403 is a short state highway located entirely within Putnam County. It connects NY 9D in Philipstown at its northern/western end to US 9 in Graymoor, where the Appalachian Trail crosses both highways...
and the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
) and it took an act of the state legislature to settle the dispute in favor of the friars. The animosity lingered for many years.
The year before the Friars left, St. Philip's had received a new rector, the Rev. Edward Clowes Chorley. He wrote a two-volume history of St. Philip's and other churches and would, years later, serve as editor-in-chief of Anglican & Episcopal History
Anglican & Episcopal History
Anglican & Episcopal History is published quarterly by the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, based in Austin, Texas.-History:...
. While in Garrison he oversaw the installation of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and gas lighting
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
in the building and the introduction of a boys' choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. Outside the church, Chorley oversaw the replacement of the original rectory in 1911, and then a sexton
Sexton
Sexton may refer to:*Sexton , a self-propelled artillery vehicle of World War II*Sexton , a church or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of the church buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard; and ringing of the church bells...
's house six years later. All are today considered contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the National Register listing. During this time, he also helped to found Garrison's volunteer fire department
Volunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
.
A kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
was later established at the church until it was moved into the expanded school facilities in the 1960s, when the nursery school
Nursery school
A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
program was established. William Reisman, who began a 27-year tenure as rector that same year, modernized and redecorated many of the buildings, adding protective covers for the stained-glass windows. He also began adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
classes at the church and updated Chorley's history to the 1970s.
Under his successor, Francis Geer, the current rector, the church has installed a new pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
and replaced the roof and interior floor of the parish house, used as a meeting for many of Garrison's community groups. A memorial garden has been built north of it, to serve as a greeting area after services.