The San Francisco call., 1896-05-01

congregations new quarters, consisting al
present of a large chapel near the pan.
handle entrance to the park, and which
will be ready for occupancy in about two
months. Meanwhile the congregation
will probably continue to hold services in
the old building, although the organ has
already been removed.
The history of Howard Presbyterian
Church is one Of trying viclssitudes, fol-
lowed by remarkable revivals, each one of
which was timely infusion of new life
and vigor into declining hone.
w. l.. Palmer, member of the congre-
CATION for the last forty-four years, as the
Oldest member of the church Is in posi-
ton to review its record.
1t was on tie 18th of May, 1850, be said,
that the first Sunday-school was held in
an old carpenter-shop on Mission street,
near Second, in a district then known as
Happy Valley. That was the nucleus of
the church itself, which was organized on
the 18th of September of the same year
with the Rev. Samuel III. Wiley as its
first pastor.
On May 1, 1864, the Rev. Mr.. Wiley
was suco eeded in the pulpit by the Rev.
w. w. Martin, and he in turn was fol-
lowed by the Rev. II. Brodt. In April,
1865, the celebrated II. NJ. Scudder, d. D. -.
became the pastor, and one of the earliest
events in his successful labor during six
years was the move made in 1865 into the
new church on Mission street. the build.
ing that has now ended its usefulness as a
place of worship and has been sold lot and
all fer barely more than the building cost.
The original lot for the church had been
given by w. d. NJ. Howard, an old pio-
neer, after whom Howard street was
named and in whose honor the church re-
tanned its name even after it was moved
from Howard street,
II 10
361 from fifteen communicates in 1851, and
the Sabbath-school enrolment was 400.
Following the Rev. Mr.. Scudder came
the Revs. II. S. Carpenter and A. S. Fiske,
and during their administrations the
financial depression came and left its
gloomy SHADOW upon the church. The
great decline or values precipitated the
congregation deep into debt, and in order
to avoid publicity the church property was
voluntarily turned over to the mortgages,
and when the Rev. DR.. Robert Macken-
Zie took charge of affairs in 1880 the church
was actually renting the property it for
merly owned. Through his efforts and the
more prosperous times OF 1880 and 1881 the
congregation was able to repurchase the
property and had nearly paid for it when
in 1886 DR.. Mackenzie was succeeded by
the Rev. NJ. n. Cornelius. The late Dr.
Hanson Irwin was also pastor and pre-
ceded the incumbent, the Rev. E. r.
Farrar.
Three great turning points made the his
tory of the church-one in 1886 under
Evangelist A. B. Earle, another in 1880 un-
der Evangelist Dwight l.. Moody, and the
third in 1892 under the Rev. B. Fay Mills,
and each time there were large additions
to the membership of the church.
1t was often remarked that the building
was unusually plain, and particularly so
with spire so generally considered dis
tinctive feature of Presbyterian archi-
lecture. Mr.. Palmer explains that there
were three considerations at the time for
this: the fear of earthquakes, the addi-
tional expense of spire ana new ideas in
architecture.