Category: Civic Building

D. R. Evarts Library (1907)

The Beaux-Arts style of architecture was quite popular in public buildings in the early years of the 20th century. Built in 1907, the D. R. Evarts Library is fine example of this style.

Daniel Redfield Evarts came from a large family with limited income, and had no free access to books or a quiet place to study. He spent his formative years in Athens longing for books to read. Due to the kindness of the Dutch Reformed pastor and congregation, he was allowed to use a small room attached to the rear of the church as a place to study with access to books. Working after school in his uncle’s grocery and bakery, he then landed a position with the New York and Philadelphia Transportation Company. He left Athens to fill this position, but as he prospered he never forgot his home town and the kindness shown to him. On his death he bequeathed Athens the money to build a library, with additional funds to be invested for further income.

The laying of the cornerstone in July of 1907 was a great occasion, touching off a three-day celebration called “Old Home Week” with speeches, parades, concerts, ball games, a motorboat race, and carnival. A church service closed the festivities. The cornerstone, laid with Masonic rites by the Civil War general George S. Nichols, assisted by S. H. Nichols, H. F. Dernell, Harmon Van Wort, and C. Porter, contains a box with copies of the wills of Daniel R. Evarts and his wife, Elizabeth, American flags, old coins and currency, an ice-tool catalog of H. F. Dernell and Company, business cards, and assessment rolls. The silver trowel used to lay the cornerstone hangs proudly, displayed on one wall of the library with portraits of D. R. Evarts and his children.

When the library was opened to the public on June 18, 1908, the eloquent Reverend M. Seymour Purdy, pastor of the Reformed Church, said in his address, “Each age is the heir of all the ages that have come before us. The past is ours mainly through the medium of books. It is no slight gift that the donor has bestowed upon us in giving to Athens this library. Just how much benefit you or I derive from his gift depends altogether upon ourselves.”

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (1853)

The Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church is the oldest continuously active congregation of the Lutheran Church in America! The current red church building of classic design was erected in 1853. It was to cost “no more than $7,000.” The building was enlarged and remodeled first in 1897 and then again in 1924, 1953, and most recently in 1996. Straley Hall was built in 1963, named out of respect for Reverend Luther Straley who served as pastor for 44 years.

Being much larger than the original church, the new building was erected farther back from Washington Street. The 1924 renovation included creation of a partial basement and the installation of electricity and central heating. Also, the arch behind the altar was created and the current altar, pulpit, and lectern installed.

The Hook and Hastings tracker organ, donated to the church in 1913 under the terms of the will of Nicholas Van Hoesen, was replaced in 1971. The new organ was built by the L. A. Carlson Company of East Greenbush, at a cost of approximately $12,000.

The actual date of the founding of the congregation is lost in obscurity. However, the fact that records begin in 1704 appears to indicate that there was an organization before that time. The Reverend Justice Falckner, whose 1703 ordination in Philadelphia is believed to be the first in America, was to be the minister of a congregation in Albany. However, when he reached Albany during June 1704, he found the congregation practically disbanded.

Most of the members had moved south along the Hudson River to Loonenburgh [Athens]. While Pastor Falckner held services in both Albany and Loonenburgh, the new Loonenburgh congregation overshadowed the one in Albany. He made this his upstate headquarters and was still pastor at the time of his death in 1723.

It is not known where the congregation first met, but it is generally agreed that the first building was constructed in 1724. That first building was known in the community as the “beehive” due to its unique shape: four roofs forming a peak topped by a small steeple. It served the congregation until the current one was erected. Reverend Wilhelm Chistoph Berkenmeyer was probably the first to preside over services in the beehive, since he was the second established minister of Albany and Loonenburgh.

Reverend Berkenmeyer died in 1751 at age 69. At his request his remains were buried in the beehive. A sandstone tablet was placed over his crypt, situated either in front or beneath the altar. The tablet is now located on the outside east wall between the entrance doors of the present church. It is possible that it still identifies the location of Reverend Berkenmeyer’s tomb.

Apparently the beehive was erected on Van Loan family land holdings, since in 1727 a farm of undetermined acreage, which came to be known as the “glebe farm,” was deeded by Jacob Van Loan, Albertus Van Loan, and Mathyes Van Loan for use by and on the behalf of the Lutheran minister and the Lutheran congregation. While a lot of approximately 150 feet by 100 feet on Washington Street was reserved as the church ground, the remaining land was to be the glebe, land used for the benefit of the church. The land was divided into lots, which yielded revenue to the church. Even today, while the present owners can own the buildings on this glebe land, the land itself is still subject to the glebe rent. This is the oldest and longest continuous glebe in New York state.

If you are walking through Athens today, the Gabriele / Mahar house is a few hundred feet north at 114 North Washington St. Two blocks south is the Albertus Van Loon House – built in 1724 by the son of the original patent-holder of this region.

FIRST REFORMED CHURCH (1826)

As early as 1811, prayer meetings and Sunday school were held at the corner of Market and Franklin streets, at the home of Ebenezer King, a schoolmaster. The early church fathers’ initial direction was not Reformed but Presbyterian, and articles of incorporation for a Presbyterian church were filed at the Greene County Courthouse in 1814. However, since the Reformed Dutch vastly outnumbered the Presbyterian Scottish in the area, it was felt that a Reformed church would be more in line with the needs of the community.

On November 22, 1824, a meeting was held at Ebenezer King’s schoolroom to discuss the building of a church. Reverend Isaac N. Wycoff of the Leeds Reformed Church was requested to officiate as chairman, and the Reverend Gilbert R. Livingston of the Coxsackie Reformed Church to act as secretary of the meeting. The total of the subscriptions promised amounted to $1,635.

This house of worship was built between 1825 and 1827, at a cost of $2,213.52. Later additions to the building included the “old” Sunday School Room, built in 1886. The latter is now labeled “old” because in 1975 a new Sunday School Room, office and study were added. It is a classic example of an early-19th-century colonial brick structure with a splendid slate-clad steeple topped with an original weather vane.

The twelve stained-glass windows in the sanctuary are of exceptional quality. The one to the left of the altar was placed in memory of Emilie Dernell-Lang, sister of Herman Dernell. Altered brick on the outer walls signify that the windows were at one time squared at the top, not arched as they are now These early windows probably had plain glass panes. In the past, the church interior was open with a vaulted ceiling and a plainer balcony.

A parcel of land divided by a 20-foot alley was given by Isaac Northrup, founder of the Village of Athens, to be equally divided among the Presbyterians/Dutch Reformed, and the Episcopalians. The Reformed church chose the northern half. Since Northrup had influence in naming the streets in Athens, it seems likely he chose the name Church Street.

The first minister, the Reverend David Abeel, was installed immediately after his graduation from the New Brunswick Seminary, class of 1826. His salary was $15 a month. After three months his salary was increased to $33 a month with a later salary increase. He served the church from 1826 through 1828. In that year, at age 24, he left this pastorate to become the first foreign missionary to Asia; he also became the founder of the Amoy Mission. This Reformed church in Athens was the only church in this country in which Abeel served as pastor.

It was during the pastorate of the Reverend Cornelius Van Cleef (1828-1833) that one of Athens greatest religious revivals took place, with 60 being received into the church at one rime. In the mid-19th century, General George S. Nichols, a much esteemed Athenian, was a member of this congregation. At the close of the Civil War he was made a brigadier general.

The congregation became very large and people were traveling long distances to attend services. In 1833 there was an appeal to build a chapel west of the village near High Hill. The chapel was built in 1837 and sat on the hill with a few old cemetery stones in the Coleburg Cemetery to the west.

Some years later, the First Reformed Church conveyed the chapel to the consistory of the Second Reformed Church of Athens, with the condition that it would remain a Dutch Church. Services continued at High Hill until 1903, and then in 1904 the congregation disbanded. On June 26, 1908, an auction was held at the Sager Hotel located on Lime Street, High Hill, to sell the building. Several years later the chapel was destroyed by fire.

During 1901 the Sunday school of the First Reformed Dutch Church purchased a large building north of the village (12 Brick Row) that for a short time was used as a “mission.” Also during 1901, in celebration of the church’s 75th anniversary, the interior was redecorated and the roof received new slate.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York pledged half of the cost of a new organ in 1913. The cost was not to exceed $2,500. This instrument was installed in the front, rather than in the back balcony where the previous organ was located. A new organ was dedicated in 1998.

If you are walking through Athens today, the Decker House is adjacent at 16 North Church St.