Trinity Episcopal Church (Claverack, New York)
Encyclopedia
The former Trinity Episcopal Church is located on NY 23B
in Claverack
, New York, United States. It is a Shingle Style church building from the early 20th century.
It replaced the church's second building, destroyed by fire, which had itself been a replacement for another fire-destroyed building. In 1975 the church moved out and sold it. Changes were made to convert
it into a residence but it retains its historic integrity. In 1997 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
somewhat from the road. It is located near the west side of a 1.3 acres (5,260.9 m²) lot
with tall, mature trees, particularly along the driveway in the center of the lot. To the east along the highway are institutional public buildings such as a school, library
and a memorial chapel. To the west are other houses, many from the 18th and centuries. There is one other building, a garage not considered a contributing resource
to the National Register listing.
The building itself is a frame
structure on a stone foundation
capped by a steeply pitched
gable roof. At the south (front) end, the roof extends to an overhanging hood meant to shelter the bell originally there, a feature called a wolf dak. It is sided in board-and-batten
on its lower sections and wood shingles above. A datestone
at the corner gives 1901 as the date of construction.
On the southern facade
are a group of five stepped stained glass
windows. At the south end of the east facade is a projecting vestibule
for the main entrance with a gabled roof. One stained glass window lights it from the south. The flat-arched windows along the rest of the profile also retain their stained glass.
There are three similar windows in the north elevation. Their stained glass has been replaced with clear glass. The west side has a small transept
, with a stained glass oculus
in its gable field above another group of three windows. There is a secondary entrance on the west elevation of the wing. At the south end of the facade is a shed-roofed addition.
Inside, the nave
, now the house's main block, is still open to the roof. King post
truss
es are still visible at either corner of the transept, in natural wood finish contrasting with the dark-stained
ceiling. Other wood supports are visible and serve both decorative
and structural functions. Open loft
s in the front and rear expand the available living space.
who worshipped primarily at the Reformed Dutch Church
, until 1853. That year The Rev. Fred T. Tiffany came to the hamlet as a missionary
. He gained enough followers to formally establish a parish
three years later, in 1856, which he served as rector
.
Two years after that, the parish raised $5,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) to build a church on the current site, land donated by the Philip family. The cellar of the current church suggests it had a similar footprint. Tiffany died in 1863, three years before the church was finished and consecrated
. By then the church had replaced him with the first of several rectors.
Contemporary accounts suggest there may have been two fires in the late 19th century that necessitated the rebuilding of the church. A late 1890s history of Columbia County
mentions an 1891 fire, and when the Hudson Daily Register reported on the opening of the 1901 structure it describes the fire as having occurred the previous year.
The current church may have been built by an architect who designed other, similar Episcopal churches elsewhere in the country. He has not been identified; research continues. Aesthetically it is mostly in the Shingle Style of the late 19th century. Its use of medieval lines anticipates some aspects of the American Craftsman
style
that would become prominent within a decade of its construction.
It was used as a church until 1975. At that point many of the overtly religious aspects of the interior, such as the pew
s, organ, baptismal font
, altar and the three stained glass windows in the rear triptych (the only ones in the building to have religious imagery on them) were sold. Whether the church moved to a new building or simply dissolved is not known.
It was converted
into a house shortly thereafter, with great sensitivity to its prior use. A cellar door has been added next to the vestibule on the east side, resulting in the removal of the stained glass window on the north side of that vestibule. There have been no other significant changes to the structure since then.
New York State Route 23B
New York State Route 23B is an east–west state highway located in western Columbia County, New York, in the United States. The route is a former section of NY 23 that runs for from NY 9G southwest of Hudson to NY 9H in Claverack...
in Claverack
Claverack-Red Mills, New York
Claverack-Red Mills is a census-designated place in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 913 at the 2010 census....
, New York, United States. It is a Shingle Style church building from the early 20th century.
It replaced the church's second building, destroyed by fire, which had itself been a replacement for another fire-destroyed building. In 1975 the church moved out and sold it. Changes were made to convert
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
it into a residence but it retains its historic integrity. In 1997 it was listed 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...
.
Building
The former church is on the north side of Route 23B, set backSetback (land use)
In land use, a setback is the distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which needs protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various...
somewhat from the road. It is located near the west side of a 1.3 acres (5,260.9 m²) lot
Lot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
with tall, mature trees, particularly along the driveway in the center of the lot. To the east along the highway are institutional public buildings such as a school, library
Claverack Free Library
The Claverack Free Library is located on NY 23B near the center of the hamlet of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a small Colonial Revival building constructed in the early 1930s from a design by local architect Lucius Moore....
and a memorial chapel. To the west are other houses, many from the 18th and centuries. There is one other building, a garage not considered a contributing resource
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.
The building itself is a frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure on a stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
capped by a steeply pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
gable roof. At the south (front) end, the roof extends to an overhanging hood meant to shelter the bell originally there, a feature called a wolf dak. It is sided in 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...
on its lower sections and wood shingles above. A datestone
Datestone
A datestone is typically an embedded stone with the date of engraving and other information carved into it. They are not considered a very reliable source for dating a house, as instances of old houses being destroyed and rebuilt have been reported.Specific locations have often been chosen for...
at the corner gives 1901 as the date of construction.
On the southern facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
are a group of five stepped 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...
windows. At the south end of the east facade is a projecting 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...
for the main entrance with a gabled roof. One stained glass window lights it from the south. The flat-arched windows along the rest of the profile also retain their stained glass.
There are three similar windows in the north elevation. Their stained glass has been replaced with clear glass. The west side has a small transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
, with a stained glass oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
in its gable field above another group of three windows. There is a secondary entrance on the west elevation of the wing. At the south end of the facade is a shed-roofed addition.
Inside, the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, now the house's main block, is still open to the roof. King post
King post
A king post is a central vertical supporting post used in architectural, bridge, or aircraft design applications.-Architecture:...
truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es are still visible at either corner of the transept, in natural wood finish contrasting with the dark-stained
Wood stain
A wood stain consists of a colorant suspended or dissolved in a 'vehicle' or solvent. The suspension agent can be water, alcohol, petroleum distillate, or the actual finishing agent...
ceiling. Other wood supports are visible and serve both decorative
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
and structural functions. Open loft
Loft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
s in the front and rear expand the available living space.
History
There was no Episcopal presence in Claverack, whose population descended predominantly from Dutch settlersDutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
who worshipped primarily at the Reformed Dutch Church
Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack
The Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack is located on New York State Route 9H at the north end of the hamlet of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a brick church built in the mid-18th century and renovated and expanded twice in the 19th, reaching its present form in 1879. The congregation was...
, until 1853. That year The Rev. Fred T. Tiffany came to the hamlet as a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. He gained enough followers to formally 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...
three years later, in 1856, which he served as rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
.
Two years after that, the parish raised $5,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) to build a church on the current site, land donated by the Philip family. The cellar of the current church suggests it had a similar footprint. Tiffany died in 1863, three years before the church was finished 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...
. By then the church had replaced him with the first of several rectors.
Contemporary accounts suggest there may have been two fires in the late 19th century that necessitated the rebuilding of the church. A late 1890s history of Columbia County
Columbia County, New York
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...
mentions an 1891 fire, and when the Hudson Daily Register reported on the opening of the 1901 structure it describes the fire as having occurred the previous year.
The current church may have been built by an architect who designed other, similar Episcopal churches elsewhere in the country. He has not been identified; research continues. Aesthetically it is mostly in the Shingle Style of the late 19th century. Its use of medieval lines anticipates some aspects of the American Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
that would become prominent within a decade of its construction.
It was used as a church until 1975. At that point many of the overtly religious aspects of the interior, such as the pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s, organ, baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, altar and the three stained glass windows in the rear triptych (the only ones in the building to have religious imagery on them) were sold. Whether the church moved to a new building or simply dissolved is not known.
It was converted
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
into a house shortly thereafter, with great sensitivity to its prior use. A cellar door has been added next to the vestibule on the east side, resulting in the removal of the stained glass window on the north side of that vestibule. There have been no other significant changes to the structure since then.