USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > First Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne > Part 3
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When the Chief arrived, wreaths of black smoke were curl- ing through the tall belfry, the rear of the church was ablaze, and red flames shot from the roof and licked the wooden cornices in their deadly devastation. The Chief found several people excitedly endeavoring to take out of the burning auditorium all that was port- able. Fortunately, the church records were saved. With great dispatch he ordered the hose laid and connected with the hydrants. The first relay was carried through the center aisle and directed upon the spot whence the flames had first appeared. On the left side of the auditorium in the lath and plaster partition, Hilbrecht discovered a hole eight feet high and four feet wide. The flames had communicated from a defective flue and instantly shot up through the latticed work to the ceiling and then to the roof. The flames swept on rapidly to the belfry.
Although Chief Hilbrecht believed that the fire was beyond control, he conscientiously ordered his men to fight the raging in- ferno, and they rendered efficient service under the difficulties. Five streams from the hydrants were directed against the flames, and the "Anthony Wayne" and "Charley Zollinger" steamers were ordered out. Although the hydrants worked efficiently, the engi- neer, John H. Turner, could not secure the force required for several minutes. The first pressure was sixty to seventy pounds. He soon increased the pressure to eighty-five pounds. Some very lofty streams were finally obtained, but even if they had been se-
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Hilbrecht ordered his men to fight the raging inferno
cured initially, the building could not have been saved.
The flames enwrapped the sacred structure in a weird man- tle of flame, shooting athwart the black sky and illuminating the streets roundabout, which were crowded with spectators. Even the famed pyrotechnic displays at the Crystal Palace in London could not approach this carnival of the fire fiend in Fort Wayne. The vast crowd breathlessly awaited the falling of the lofty belfry, which became a red skeleton of framework. The bell tower leaned in the direction of Berry Street and finally fell with a booming crash. The bell, which has for so many years called the faithful to prayer and praise, sank down in the flaming ruins of the audi- torium, sounding the knell of the fated house of God. Then the melancholy interest in the conflagration seemed to subside, and men, women, and children departed for their various destinations, discussing the exciting scene they had just witnessed.
John M. Moritz of the Aveline House invited some forty firemen to the dining room, where coffee and other refreshments were served. Chief Hilbrecht, in behalf of the department, ex- presses thanks to the considerate gentleman through these col- umns . 20
PLANS FOR A NEW BUILDING
The churches of the city sent messages of sympathy to the First Presbyterian congregation and offered the use of their build- ings for services. On Sunday, January 17, 1883, the congregation met in the Trinity English Lutheran Church at the invitation of Reverend Samuel Wagenhals. Until April, 1883, the members met in the Circuit Court Room of the Court House through the kindness oi Judge Edward O'Rourke and the Allen County Commissioners. The First Presbyterians then held services in the Synagogue of the Achduth Vesholom Congregation and continued to do so until Octo- ber 1, 1885; their Sunday school classes met in the Second Presby- terian Church.
The kindness of the Achduth Vesholom Congregation in per- mitting the use of their temple without compensation created a firm bond of brotherhood. Later the First Presbyterian congrega-
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tion generously contributed one thousand dollars to help defray the debt on a new temple.
Shortly after the fire, Doctors William B. Knapp and George W. Bowen searched among the blackened ruins and found the cor- nerstone of the church at the northeast corner. The cavity within the stone contained a leaden box, which had been damaged in set- ting the stone. The lid and sides of the box were battered, and the contents were water-soaked. The condition of the contents made an immediate examination impossible. At Reverend David W. Moffatt's suggestion, the box was taken to Nuttman's Bank where the contents were removed and spread out to dry. These included a Bible, a prayer book, the proceedings of the Presbyterian Gen- eral Assembly, the October 18, 1845 issue of the FORT WAYNE TIMES AND PEOPLE'S PRESS, a silver dollar minted in 1796 (re- tained by Dr. Bowen as a souvenir), and a half dollar issued in 1841 (kept by Dr. Knapp). Later he returned the coin to the church authorities and suggested that it be placed in the cornerstone of the new church.
Within a week after the fire, the Presbyterians met to con- sider the task of rebuilding. After some discussion as to the ad- visability of rebuilding on the old foundations and walls, they unanimously decided that this should not be done. The congrega- tion named the following men to a building committee: Allen Ham- ilton, Oliver P. Morgan, William H. Hoffman, John M. Moritz, James McCracken, Oscar A. Simons, John Cochrane, Edward P. Williams, and John D. Olds. A few days later action was taken to offer the old site to the federal government for a post office. The government accepted the offer and paid twenty-five thousand dollars to the congregation for the lot which had cost the church eleven hundred fifty dollars in 1845.
In September, 1883, the congregation appointed Mr. Ham- ilton and Mr. Hayden to procure suitable sites for the location of a new building. They were superseded the following month by a five-man committee: Henry Sharp, Joseph D. Nuttman, R. Morgan French, William H. Hoffman, and Fred J. Hayden.
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THE FOURTH CHURCH EDIFICE
A congregational meeting was held on November 12, 1883, to consider three sites for the new church. The following bids were considered: the Brackenridge homestead, a one-hundred- twenty-foot frontage (site of the present-day Public Library) for eighteen thousand dollars; Mrs. Meyer's property (site of the present-day Patterson-Fletcher Company), twenty thousand five hundred dollars; and the John Taylor property, one-hundred- twenty-foot frontage at the northeast corner of Clinton and Wash- ington streets for twelve thousand dollars. In 1883 the congrega- tion accepted the Taylor bid by a vote of one hundred twenty-eight against a total of thirty-five for the other two sites.
Proceeds from the sale of the old site, payments totaling fourteen thousand five hundred dollars from fire insurance policies, five hundred thirty-five dollars from William Moellering for re- moving the ruins constituted the nucleus of the new building fund. The major portion of the cost of the new edifice was born by pledges and subscriptions from members of the congregation and other generous citizens. The record of subscriptions and payments to the building fund includes pledges written in longhand by the do- nors. One reads, "I pledge one thousand dollars, one half to be paid in 1885 and one half in 1886 after forty thousand dollars good subscriptions have been made." David N. Foster wrote, "I will give six hundred yards of the highest grade wool extra super car- pet, which shall be selected by a committee of ladies of the con- gregation . . . or five hundred dollars." (The carpet cost eighty cents a yard!) E. P. Williams subscribed an amount equal to one tenth of the total subscription. Jesse L. Williams gave two thou- sand dollars.
The Building Committee selected a plan prepared by Gregory Vigeant, a Chicago architect, and awarded the building contract to Christian Boseker.
In the spring of 1884, work began in earnest on the fourth edifice of the First Presbyterian Church. Contractors employed unskilled laborers to dig and load the earth into horse-drawn wag- ons. The earth was used as fill dirt in low-lying residential areas. During the succeeding months the tall outlines of a modified Gothic structure began to appear on the northeast corner of Clinton and
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First Presbyterian Church
Leaden box from the first church edifice
Washington streets. The exterior of the building was of yellow Sandstone quarried in Michigan, and the roof was of slate. The total width east and west was one hundred feet, and the total length north and south was one hundred thirty-four feet.
The cornerstone of the new church was laid with appropri - ate ceremonies. The stone was unusual in two respects -- it was solid and lacked the usual cavity for records, and was placed at ground level in the center of the Washington Street wall. Nearly seventy years later, just before the wreckers began razing the building, Mr. and Mrs. Lee F. Bernhardt, long-time members of the congregation, found a leaden box in the basement containing old documents and records of the first church edifice. The box and contents were given to the church authorities.
Structural steel was unknown in 1884; the builders, some- what ahead of their time, used laminated timbers for the frame- work. The frame was made of two-by-twelve-inch timbers lami- nated together with huge bolts; to the observer they appeared to be solid wooden beams.
The north end of the edifice, which was divided from the auditorium by a fire wall, had two floors. The lecture room and Sabbath school rooms were on the lower level; the church parlors, on the upper floor. Sunday-school quarters were completed, and classes met there in October, 1885. On the first Sabbath of the same month, the congregation began to meet in the lecture room of the new church.
The south portion of the building housed the sanctuary. The builders had to brace and rebrace in order to push the roof to the desired height. The four "A-tress" peaks over the sanctuary were held together by eight twelve-by-twelve laminated scissor beams, which radiated from a center circle and thus supported each other.
Large stained glass windows, each containing approximate- ly two thousand pieces of glass, were set in the south and west walls. A row of six smaller stained glass windows was directly below each large opening. These apertures admitted the softened sunlight and enhanced the beautifully frescoed walls.
The bell tower stood on the southwest corner of the edifice. Arched entrances in the bell tower opened into an interior vesti- bule. Lancet arches rose above the doorways; slitlike windows
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dimly lighted the bell tower staircase. The tower was constructed only to roof level.
On May 1, 1886, members of the congregation gathered for the first time in their beautiful new church for divine services. Passing through the vestibule and into the church proper, they noted with admiration the woodwork of California redwood. They walked down the aisles, which were covered, like the entire floor, by beautifully patterned Brussels carpet. Ushered into a semi- circle of cherry pews, which accommodated seven hundred fifty worshipers, they seated themselves on red velvet cushions and gazed about the new church with pardonable pride.
As services began, the strains of the beautiful new organ flooded the sanctuary. The rich tones of the cherry woodwork of the pulpit, pulpit furniture, and organ console, the opulence of the decoration and furnishings, and the array of lovely flowers de- lighted the eye.
The church proper was lighted by a huge gas chandelier of Bailey pattern, the first ever built in this region. It contained sixty-six burners and two sets of reflectors; one set reflected downward and the other at angles, lighting every part of the room. Hattersley & Sons erected the fixture at a cost of five hundred dollars. The cost of the completed church far exceeded the origi- nal estimates. In 1886 costs totaled $81, 855.
In March, 1893, the Michigan quarry which had supplied the building stone was about to be closed. Contractor John J. Geake was building the John Bass home of stone from the same quarry. The congregation of the First Presbyterian voted an additional seven thousand dollars and awarded him the contract to complete the bell tower with the matching stone. The steeple, two hundred twenty feet high, was then the highest in the city. The cost of the completed edifice, including interest on the debt, totaled $101,658.66.
The following resumé of membership appeared in the local press just prior to the inauguration of the new edifice:
The total admissions to membership in this Church since its organization in 1831 has been five hundred forty-four on pro- fession of faith and six hundred nineteen on certificate from other churches. The present membership is four hundred fifteen. In
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May, 1844, six members who were dismissed at their own request organized with others as the Second Presbyterian Church. Again on December 2, 1867, thirty-four members were dismissed in like manner so that they might organize as the Third Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne.2'
Early-day members of the First Presbyterian Church in- cluded these prominent citizens: Samuel Bigger, onetime governor of Indiana; Colonel Robert S. Robertson, lieutenant governor of Indiana; James H. Smart, noted educator; Joseph D. Nuttman, founder of the First National Bank of Fort Wayne; Allen Hamilton, founder of the Hamilton National Bank; Judge Samuel Hanna; Judge Edward O'Rourke; William G. Ewing, first man admitted to the bar in Allen County; and George W. Ewing, one of the most widely known businessmen in the Middle West.
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LIST OF PASTORS
The following clergymen served as pastors or supplied the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church in the nineteenth century.
Reverend James Chute
Organized Church July 1, 1831
Died December 28, 1835 Supplied in 1836
Reverend Daniel Jones
Reverend Jesse Hoover (Lutheran)
Supplied after Mr. Jones till October, 1837
Supplied from October,
1837, to September, 1843
Called in spring of 1844, declined, but preached six months
Installed November, 1845
Resigned July, 1847
Supplied July to November, 1847
Supplied six months in 1848 Supplied from August, 1848 to 1851
Installed November, 1851 Resigned July, 1855 Supplied in 1856
Reverend J. H. Burns
Reverend John Marshal Lowrie, D.D.
Installed November, 1856 Continued till death, Sep- tember 26, 1867
Called March, 1868
Installed September 16, 1869
Resigned September 18, 1871
Called February 5, 1872 Installed 1875
Retired January 1, 1906 Made Pastor Emeritus Died 1920
Reverend Alexander T. Rankin
Reverend William C. Anderson, D.D.
Reverend H. S. Dickson, D.D.
Reverend James Greer
Reverend Lowman Hawes Reverend J. G. Riheldaffer
Reverend Jonathan Edwards, D.D.
Reverend Thomas H. Skinner, D.D.
Reverend David W. Moffatt, D.D.
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NOTES
1. B. J. Griswold, PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA (Chicago: Robert O. Law Company, 1917), Vol. I, p. 242.
2. J. L. Williams, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, FORT WAYNE, INDIANA (Fort Wayne: Daily News Printing House, 1881), p. 14.
3. Ibid., p. 15.
4. C. J. Worden, HISTORICAL SKETCHES CONCERNING THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, FORT WAYNE, INDIANA (Fort Wayne, First Presbyterian Church Foundation, 1945), p. 7.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid., p. 8.
7. Griswold, op. cit., p. 335.
8. Ibid., p. 341.
9. Mrs. Lura Case Woodworth and Others, REMINIS- CENCES OF OLD FORT WAYNE, 1906 (Fort Wayne: Public Li- brary of Fort Wayne and Allen County, 1953), p. [25].
10. Ibid.
11. Worden, op. cit., p. 36.
12. FORT WAYNE SENTINEL, May 10, 1841.
13. FORT WAYNE GAZETTE, May 15, 1878.
14. Worden, op. cit., p. 16.
15. Woodworth, op. cit., p. [25].
16. FORT WAYNE SENTINEL, March 6, 1847.
17. Worden, op. cit., p. 41.
18. FORT WAYNE GAZETTE, September 18, 1871.
19. Worden, op. cit., p. 36.
20. FORT WAYNE SENTINEL, December 18, 1882.
21. FORT WAYNE GAZETTE, April 29, 1886.
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THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
FORT WAYNE
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