Question: This sketch was published in 1880 and showcased a distinctive village residence. Its design was the hottest fashion in architectural style when it was built in 1870. It also had an unusual interior feature. Do you recognize the house? Can you pinpoint its location? Do you know anything about its owner?
Last week’s answer: The stained glass window in last week’s picture is located on the south side of the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church. This beautiful window depicts Jesus at Gethsemane.
The congregation of the church located at the intersection of West Genesee and Charlotte is celebrating 150 years in the current building. The cornerstone was laid Oct. 1, 2019. At that time the Methodist Church was located on Oswego Street across from the Presbyterian Church. There was not enough room for the growing congregation so by nearly unanimous vote in June of that year they decided to proceed at once to build a new building as soon as $15,000 was pledged towards the project. This sum was reached in July. (Today that would equal approximately $285,848.18).
Land was purchased at the current location and Horatio Nelson White was hired as the architect. The building was designed after the Methodist Church that he had designed for Cortland. He also designed the Presbyterian and Baptist churches in Baldwinsville, the Hall of Languages at Syracuse University and Onondaga Savings Bank (which is now the Gridley Building).
The dedication of the finished building was held Oct. 26, 1870. It should be noted that this refers to the main part of the current building and that several renovations and additions have taken place over the years.
Geraldine Oemcke was the first person to contact the Messenger with the correct response. A young reader named Karen, age 8, wrote in to say the church is celebrating its 150th anniversary.
Email your guess to [email protected] or leave a message at 315-434-8889 ext. 332 with your guess by noon Friday. If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo before the deadline, your name and guess will appear in next week’s newspaper, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
