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ELMIRA, NY: Historic Montour Falls church may shut down
As congregation plans to leave, pastor looks for a new use for landmark.
By Jennifer Kingsley
Star-Gazette
http://tinyurl.com/2u57bd
March 22, 2007
MONTOUR FALLS -- A 154-year-old church placed on the National Register of Historic Places nearly 30 years ago will close its doors unless a new use for the building is found by the end of the year.
Regardless, St. Paul's Episcopal Church will no longer hold services in the building after the end of the year, said the Rev. Michael Hartney, the church's pastor. Hartney is also the pastor at two other Episcopal churches in Schuyler County, one in Watkins Glen, the other in Catharine, which will likely absorb the St. Paul's church members.
The decision to close the church came after a gradual decline in membership, Hartney said.
"Membership declined most dramatically in the last 20 years, after Shepard Niles laid off employees and 70 to 80 of our members eventually left the area," Hartney said. "Today, Sunday worship includes 10 members at best."
"I had a feeling this might happen," said Al Sweet, Montour Falls historian. "I think (membership) is down to about eight families."
Church officials are taking a pro-active approach to the building's closure, Hartney said.
"We don't have the resources to keep it open," he said. "We're going public now because we don't want anyone to say this was a surprise. This is the time to decide (what to do with the building)."
When an Episcopal church decides to no longer utilize a church, typically ownership reverts to the diocese which oversees the church, Hartney said. St. Paul's is under the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, which Hartney said is committed to not letting the building be abandoned and fall into disrepair.
"Finding a re-use and new ownership is our challenge. Selling the property is a possibility," Hartney said. "We want the community, and when I say that I mean the county or the region, to help us shape those decisions. We're looking for people with resources and tenacity to make sure this building isn't lost."
St. Paul's is among the six buildings in the Montour Falls Historic District built by one of the county's founding fathers, Charles Cook, Hartney said.
Cook built St. Paul's as a memorial to his fiancee, whom historians say died on the eve of their wedding. The cost of its construction was $12,000.
"That's the story that's been told, but I'm not sure if it's the real story," said Sweet, who lives across the street from the church. "It's believed they were going to get married, but didn't have a church to get married in, so (Cook) had one built. It turned out to be a memorial because his sweetheart is said to have died the night before their wedding."
"At one time, (St. Paul's) had a very viable congregation with a choir, its own pastor and church offices," Hartney said. "At a time when the church was very strong, the congregation sought its historical registry."
Although the building is relatively sound, Hartney said it needs an estimated $100,000 worth of repairs on its roof and brickwork.
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