ANGOLA'S FIRST CHURCH

ANGOLA'S FIRST CHURCH

By A. W. Long

Among the many eminent pioneer preachers of Steuben county, the name of Brother Hutchinson stands preeminent! He was a large strong, powerful man, filled with the spirit and inspiration of his Divine Master!  He rallied to his support the best people of Angola and Steuben county.  Under his inspiring leadership the first church was erected during the year 1856.  The rough materials necessary for the construction of the church was largely contributed by the pioneer sawmills around Angola.  In the old sawmills on our farm I helped my father  saw the studding, joists, and rafters for this church.  On the same stream, flowing southward from Fox Lake, situated a half-mile north of our mill, stood the mill of Enoch Ayers, who was a contemporary of my father in building up a powerful Methodist class in Steuben Township.  Brother Ayers also contributed much material for the new church.  Other similar saw mills around Angola contributed rough lumber.  The church was shingled with white ash shingles from the Chard shingle mill, southeast of Angola, for pine shingles were still unknown.  Thus this church, fifty feel in length bu about thirty feet wide was built with only a cash expenditure of $1400.00.

 It stood on a hill west of the present home of John B. Parsell, fronting the to the southward, where one big big door was the only means for ingress or egress.  Entering at this door you found yourself in a hall about ten feet wide and extending across the building from east to west. with smaller doors at each end of the hallway entering the auditorium.  Inside these entrances stood the two big box stoves that warmed the building, fed with beech and maple wood furnished by surrounding Methodist farmers.  The stove pipes soared upward and then turned to the northward, finally entering the chimney above the minister's head.  A gallery was built above the hallway to accommodate the church choir and for many years this was the only church building in Angola.  Devout men and women of various denominations have since built several beautiful churches of brick and stone but I doubt whether the dedication of these later churches could possible equal the enthusiasm with which we dedicated to this pioneer church to worship God!  I was only ten years old at the time, but I can still feel the thrill and the exaltation of that hour.  The auditorium was filled to the doors,  Even the aisles were filled with chairs all the standing room was taken. 

A choir of the best pioneer singers of Angola filled the gallery and were led by Miss Angeline Killinger, eldest daughter of a pioneer German family.  Miss Killinger possessed the finest soprano voice that I have ever heard in Angola!  Clear, powerful yet as sweet as the chime of silver bells!  Dear girl; I have no doubt that she is now singing in the angel choir above.  Other members of the choir were: Mr and Mrs Jesse M. Gale.  Mrs Gale was Elizabeth Metzger from a pioneer Methodist family of Angola.  Also Elizabeth Freypang and her sister, Mrs Freypang Carpenter, both cousins of Miss Killinger. Mr and Mrs Eldridge, Anna Eldridge, Edward Fitch, George W. and Mrs McConnell, both staunch Presbyterians were in that choir with the splendid tenor voices of Jacob Stealey and Mr Day, father of the large Day family.  Among the bass singers were: Gilbert and Jesse Mugg and William Kirchoff and many other singers for that gallery was full and all distinctive denominations of that time were represented in choir and congregation.

Than when all was ready Brother Hutchinson arose and read the dedicatory hymn, selected for the occasion adding at the close of the reading "Now brethren and sisters when the choir rises to sing this beautiful hymn, please rise also and turn halfway round to face the singers and sing also"  aAnd this is what that first Angola choir sang, for after seventy-three years I am writing from memory and humming the beautiful music as I write:

"Come thou, almighty king,

Teach us thy fame to sing,

Help us to praise, 

Father all glorious,

O'er all victorious,

Come and righn over us,

Ancient of Days.

Then followed the wonderful impassioned prayer of dedication and the sermon based on "And God said let there be light, and there was light.  It was a very eloquent and forceful development of the  theme: Light versus Darkness!  A beautiful custom sprang from this service in the new church and for many years the entire congregation arose and turned to face the choir in the gallery and sang with them.  It was an inspiration as well as a compliment to the choir.

Steuben Republican April 17, 1929

Fire Does Much Damage To Methodist Church

Pipe Organ, Furniture, Windows and Woodwork All Badly Damaged

Early Estimates Fix Loss Near $75,000

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Bulletin

The Angola Fire Department was called again to the Methodist Church at 11:45 Thursday

because of fire breaking out in the high roof of the church,  The outcome of the third

outbreak cannot be determines at the hour of publishing this paper, but in all probability the latest

outbreak will cause almost complete loss of the inner structure and contents of the church.

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Fire which apparently originated above the heating plant in the First Methodist church wrought heavy damage throughout the entire structure and contents at an early hour on Thursday morning.  Various early estimates of the probable damage range from $40,000 to as high as $100,000.

The fire was discovered at about 1;30 o'clock, although an electric wall clock stopped at 1:05, which would indicate the fire had made much progress inside the church before it was discovered.  Exact cause of the fire cannot yet be determined, and it may have originated in the coal stoked heating plant or in overloaded electric wiring.  The floor in the sanctuary of the church above the heating plant was completely burned and the interior of the church was charred by the intense heat although damage to the overhead structural construction
 is probably confined to the seared finish of the woodwork.  The large pipe organ in the church is probably a total loss, and replacement at present values will probably cost in excess of $10,000.  Some of the fine art glass windows, particularly the circular top windows were completely destroyed, and these are probably irreplaceable.  The entire woodwork and furniture, including the pews, within the church will require complete refinishing.  The fine carpeting was also badly damaged by smoke and water and actual burning in places.

The church had but recently put in many improvements, particularly in the basement rooms, with new tile floors and redecorating and the full extent of the damage in all of the departments of church cannot yet be fully determined.

The Angola fire department was again called to the church at 8:15 on Thursday because of fire having again broken out about the large chimney in the upper part of the church.  This damage however, was relatively insignificant.  The point of actual beginning of the fire cannot be determined.  No meeting had been held in the church during the evening, but slow fire had been  maintained in the heating plant as was the usual practice.  Rev. J.W. Borders, the minister of the church, states that he had been accustomed  to going into the church nightly to see that everything was in order, and that in his usual visit he detected nothing wrong about the church.

The loss and inconvenience to the congregation of Methodists is especially severe at this time, because of the extra heavy program of church activities.  The board of stewards of the church announced a meeting at 10:00 o'clock Thursday forenoon to plan action both as regards to the church meetings and reconstruction problems.  The First Christian Church and the First Congregational church through their ministers and the official boards promptly tendered use of their church properties to the Methodist congregation for their services.  The board tentatively arranged for regular sessions of the Sunday School and church service in the Angola High School building.  Sunday School classes will be held in the school class rooms and the church worship service will be held in the auditorium.

Herald Republican Friday February 13, 1948