The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-29
LANDMARKS PASSING AWAY.
The Old North Dutch Church
To Be Torn Down.
The Ground Leased for Commercial Purposes
History of the Church-Iu Pastors What
John Harpending, Tanner and
Currier, Did-The Fulton
Street Prayer Meeting.

At noon Tuesday there gathered at one end OF the
extensive Exchange Salesroom, No. Ill Broadway,
around the platform and desk OF weli'known
aucuOneers, q thr0ng OF gentlemen VINO soon De-
came deeply interested In the business OF the
moment This was none other than the sale OF q
lease OF the ground on which the Old North Dutch
church stands, at the corners OF Fulton, William
and Ann Streets for the term OF twenty-One years
from the lsu Of May next, with covenants for two
renewals OF twenty-one years each. Many Old
gentlemen with hair like the driven snow and faces
wrlnkled with age, stood among those with coun-
tenances denoting the men of active pursuits In
lie. sng exhibited no lltlle concern az the cond
tons hb5h which The lease was 70 be sold were Read
TO the assemblage These that the OLD building
and all It's materials and furniture, excepting the
organ, cushions pulpit corner stone and property
found therein, should belong 10 the lessee; that
church, charitable institution, theatre, restaurant,
brewery blacksmith snop, nor place to dispense In
t0xlcating liquors should be erected thereon;
that, IN word, business not o nuisance to the
neighborhoOd should be there carried on the lease
TO be signed and delivered on the 9Th of March and
possession given the 25th following. With this I'M
derstanding, alter much delay on the part Of the
gentlemen, q bid OF $4,000 was made by the auc-
tiOneer for the trustees which was followed by
$l41OO by large real estate owner. Theu sl4,2OO,
$4,000 quickly came from the bidders; but here 1t
hung fire. and the auctioneer made hls final bid Tor
the trustees. Sl4,40O. Another long delay and no
advance being vOuchsa.ed, the right TO buy the
lease at auction was Withdrawn. Later in the day,
however, 1t was ascersained that the trustees
PRIVATELY NEGOTIATING
Tor the sale OF the lease on their terms, and that 1t
would be consummaed before yesterday. This
settles the fate Of the old North Dutch church,
IF fho fnxu niino Iaff NJ o,tvo
history. Nearly all The old landmarks con-
temporaneous with 1t and the houses OF worship
built earlier by the same religious people nave dis
appeared. The original fort on the Battery; the
first Stadt House, at the head OF COentles slip; the
Cingle, or wall that shut out the Indians and gave
the name to Wall street; the modest wooden church
the site OF stately Trinity; the quaint Old shops
In Broad street, with their slp-ladder gables and
their fve-by-siX diamond shaped panes OF CLASSICAL
these went long before IT, and soon the Titanic
strides OF commerce will build up the depopulated
district with
SPLENDID MARTS OF BUSINESS.
Early In the year l767 measures were taken to
build this church, and in June following it was re.
solved tnat Ii should ne erected the grounds OF
Mr.. John Harpendlng; that 1t should be 100 feet in
length and 10 feet breadth; that should front
Horse and Cart lane, and be placed IN the middle OF
the lot" MIR. Harpending, Or as he wrote his name,
Herbendinck, was worthy currler and tanner
Of that day, and excellent and influential, though
aged, member of the church, who frequently ON
GATED AS elder and deacon. He was LIBERAL bene-
factor OF This renglOus society. DOtn III lie and at
his death. Horse and Cart lane, now known as
William street. derived lis name from a tavern butt
In the vicinity Of the sacred edhce, having the sign
embellished with morse and cart and probably.
In its time cartmen the habit OF resortng TO
this place. Tue population OF the city was now
pressing slowly towards the locality winch be came
Bparsey settled, yet with communal increase. the
Roosevelt chairman OF the Building Committee,
Ia March Of The next year it was found that funds
were wanting. The ConslstOry ordered loan OF
$4,000 TO be made, but this was not done until they
had carefully examined ana approved calculation
by which II was shown That certain measures TO be
adOpted would enable them TO discharge principal
and interest In the space OF six years. II would
have been well II all Their successors IN office had,
when contracting debt, used the same wise pre-
cautions. Eight months afterwards 1t was found
tnat 81. 500 more were needed, and this sum was
borrowed on the same conditions as the former. BY
the month OF Marcn, 1869, however. The building be-
gan 10 approach complexion The pillars, II Is un.
derstoOd, erected by the special contribution Of
ndiv,duas each OF wnom was pernitted 10 nave ms
There are ten OF these, but seven only can be made
out, yH:-Joln IaricSe John DE La Montague. Ste.
and Corneia Walton copy OF the Harpending
arms was ordered TO be made and hung over the
pulpit, where IL now 49, The motto inscribed on this,
"DANDo CoNSERvAT,''
conveyed the sentlment that the best means OF Sc
curing and giving permanence to their property was
TO devote II to benencent uses. On Monday May %,
1869, a modest notice III the New YORK Gazette
weekly newspaper then puollshsd IN TINS CITY, an.
nounced that on the ensuing Thursday, the new
edlhce erected by the Reformed Protestant Dutcn
Church would be opened for public worship by The
Rev. Archibald Laidlle Accordingly. on that day, in
the presence OF large audience, III which the civil
authorizes were consplcuously represented, DR..
Laldlie pronounced deulcatOry discourse from the
words. 'But The nour cnmeth, and now Is, when
the true wOIshippers snail worship the Father IN
Wors ID Him, John w. 23) The discourse il not
extan bu, one OF the original hearers described 1t
a. crne very WSsn way Wa
believe when we consider the irultlulness OF the
text and the gifts ana poty OF the preacher.
The houses OF worship in the city at the opening
Of the North Dutch church were the FIRST Presby-
terian IN Wall street, near Broadway built In l1l9
the Episcopal st. Georges chapel, in Beekman
street, built IN 1852; the Moravan church, IN Full
lOn between Nassau and William streets, built III
1852; the Scotch Presbyterian church, in Gear
street, near Broadway, buit In l16S; the German
built IN 1895; the German Lutheran church, corner
OF Wtanf and Frankfort streets, erected III l767 st.
Pauls Episcopal church, on Broadway, erected III
1866; the BRICK Presbyterian church, erected on q
lot presented by the corporation OF the city, "tne
neds" opened in 1857; the Bal tlst church, In Gold,
between Fulton and John streets, built IN 1900; the
first Methodist cnurch IN America built In John
street, IN l76s. Besides THESE there was q small
Friends, or quaker meeting house,
The Old building figured conspicuously during the
Revolutionary struggle. Not long after the breaking
CITY, and those Who were favorable to Inc American
cause, with their families. sought refuge and So
lourned, during the war, IN different places IN the
country. with almost solitary exceptions, the con-
gregat0n was strongly united In the
CAUSE OF INDEPENDENCE,
and was scattered around. During the occupation
by the brlilsh several VI the churches. especially
where the congregations generally espoused the
cause OF ireedOm were sadly desecrated anu abused
Very conspicuous among these were the Middle
aud North Reformed Dutch churches. the
Middle Church used as prison, and
afterwards rs riding school for the British
oficers and soldiers and became the scene OF
habitual ribalry, profanity and dissipation. The
whole OF The INTERIOR galleries anu all, was de-
stroyed, leaving the bare walls and ROOT. The
North church was used as hospital and FOR stor-
age The lower part was stripped OF the pews, pull.
nit, &C, and the walls were much deaced, out
otherwise the building preserved the general char
acter and aspect Il originally possessed, and which
II still retains. Those acquainted with the annals
o. our Revolutionary history vvidly recall to mind
the atrocities and crueltles committed by me
British forces while in possession OF tue
city OF New York. The churches. tue sugar house.
Immediately behind the Middle church, the jail,
the Jersey prison snip ana the thousands OF Amer.
leans VINO Iel victims 10 disease, hunger and cru
city. laid buried bleaching OH the SHORES OF Long
ptaln