Middletown transcript., 1883-02-02
Enrest Church.

ROECSg OnUECns
The reopening services Of Forest Presby
terian Church will be held on Sunday
next, February 4th. In the morning a
the usual hour of service, Rev. DR.. Patton
the last pastor, will preach, and in the
evening Rev. Mr.. Runner, Of st. Georges
Other clergymen have been invited to be
present. Mr.. David s. Craven, of Phila
delphia, will preside at the organ, and
some good music may be expected.
Forest Church is now one of the hand
soonest church edifces on the Peninsula.
The Improvements were begun in May
last and are just completed. The front
wall of the building was taken out, and a
graceful tower, A feet wide, IA feet
deep and eighty feet high was erected,
giving about IA feet additional floor space
to the auditorium. Stained-glass windows
with circular heads have displaced the old
windows, and the walls and ceiling have
been richly and handsomely frescoed.
There are sixty-seven pews. They are of
light and dark hard wood and are of very
neat pattern. A gallery extends across
the front of the room, with seating capac-
ity for perhaps fifty persons. The organ
has been placed at the left of the pulpit.
The entrance to the main room is made
by way of wide flights of stairs on either
side to a spacious landing, from which
three doors open, one opposite each aisle
and another in the centre. The lecture
room below, in which the Sunday school
is held, has been much improved, and the
room for the very little folks has been
made almost twice as big as it was before.
The church will be lighted with gas, fur
nished by an improved Springfield gas
machine Of sufficient capacity to light
every room in the building. The i'm
provements to the church cost about
1000, and the entire amount has been
subscribed, and is very nearly all paid in.
One will be convinced by an examination
that in the improvement of this building,
the best ofmaterials have been used and the
work well done. John Morrison, of Mid
dletown, was the contractor for the wood
work, Stanger and Given did the brick
work, Mr.. Goldburg the frescoing, and
Mr.. Monro, Of Blackbird, the granting.
With the exception of the frescoing, grain
ing and gas-fitting the work on the build |
ing was done by Middletown artisans.
Two memorial windows have been
placed in the church. One is to Mrs. Eliza |
Polk Cochran and John Cochran, and the
other to Thomas Murphey and Mrs. Sarah
There are yet to be two more
memorial windows put in, one to Major
Rothwell and the other to William Brady.
The organ has been greatly improved
in appearance by the dexterous hand of
Mr.. A. Monro, the grainer.
The handsome pulpit was a present
from generous Middletown lady.
The Forest Church edihce, which has
lust undergone these substantial and
tasteful improvements, was built in 1850,
Turing the ministry Of Rev. DR.. Handy.
The old Forest Church." built before
L773, stood near the entrance of the present
Forest cemetery. It was abandoned about
842, after which number of its people
with the Drawyer's church.
such was the state of things until 1850,
when the present organization was ef-
'cted and the new church edifice erected.
The ground on which it stands was pur-
hased of the late R. A. Cochran, for five
lollars per hneal foot, and amounted in
il to $500. The building was erected by
David Maxwell, by contract, for 5000.
t was dedicated on the last Sabbath of !
october, 1861, Rev. Drs. Brainerd and John
'atton assisting the pastor in conducting
he services. A marble tablet has during
he recent improvements been placed in
he wall of the vestibule, giving the names
f the original trustees as follows: Major
ohm Jones, Samuel Pennington, Andrew I
Iliason, Major William Rothwell, DR.. ]
Iartin Barr, Robert A. Cochran, Thomas
Iurphey, r. Thomas Cochran, DIR. John
ferritt, Joseph West, William 9. Parker,
mother tablet contains the names of the =
astors from the time Of the reorganization :
the church, as follows: Rev. I. w. K. .
Iandy, I851-1S53; Rev. Thomas Foster, :
Rev. W. A. Rankin, 1S57-IS61; :,
.ev. Isaac Riley, 1S62-1s64; Rev. John =
alton, D. D., 1865-188O; Rev. W. c. Alex .
nder, 1880. 9