Washingtonville- First Presbyterian Church is Now An Official Landmark!

First Presbyterian Church of Washingtonville - an Official Historic Landmark

Due to the hard work of church members and Washingtonville officials, the First Presbyterian Church has become a Landmark, passed by a unanimous vote of the Washingtonville Village Board at its June 1 meeting, and this brings some very important advantages. While the building is for sale it will currently remain an active congregation, and NOW IT CANNOT BE DEMOLISHED WITHOUT AN ACT OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY, although limited renovations are permissible. Other churches in our region who have achieved this status have become significant centers of their community with additional outreach, and this particular church is very suitable for such purposes, especially since it has been an important arm of the also historic Washingtonville Cemetery which contains the gravesites of important military heroes including Major Nathaniel Strong, a Revolutionary War hero who was murdered by the notorious Loyalist Claudius Smith in 1778 along with his gang of "Cowboys of the Ramapos" . "Loyalists" were Revolutionary War combattants who remained loyal to England and did not want America to become a separate country. They brought quite a bit of havoc to the lower Orange County area during the early days of the War.

The First Presbyterian Church was officially organized in 1841 and its beautiful sanctuary was erected in 1847. Its first Pastor was an avid abolitionist and facilitated the escape of many slaves. His original residence is next on the list to become an official Washingtonville "Landmark", so stay tuned for the announcement, along with 2 additional sites that we expect to achieve local Landmark Status. While local Landmark status is not quite as stringent as National Landmark status, it is just as official and carries one of the most important criteria, i.e. It can have limited renovation without years of red tape and delay and the municipality retains full oversight. The First Presbyterian Church members have already spent hundreds of hours doing a fantastic (while limited) amount of very necessary restoration. Now its structure is solid and yet still historically honest and beautiful and they have an opportunity if they want to expand the restoration work.

This church is currently an active congregation under the leadership of Pastor Martha Carlson, and was and still is the first church of many Washingtonville residents, some who have been ardent members for over 30 years.

We wish this historice church and its membership all the best in this new adventure!