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The BuildingGrace Church was built by Jarvis Van Buren, a relative of President Martin Van Buren. He migrated to Clarkesville in 1838 to operate the Stroop Iron Works south of town. Due to the boom in summer residents moving in before the Civil War, he turned his attention to building homes and public buildings. He also operated a furniture factory in town. His own home, “Gloaming Cottage”, is located a block away from Grace-Calvary. Here he helped to promote the cultivation of apples in the area. Gloaming Nursery was located between his home and the Walter B. Hill home which he built on Jefferson Street. The Presbyterian Church on Washington Street, completed in 1849, is also credited to him. In all, he was responsible for most of the impressive mansions of the antebellum period in the area including Lamont, Sleepy Hollow, Annandale, Woodlands, Sunnyside, Caers Riggon, Woodleigh, Blythwood, and Guiness. His background knowledge of Hudson River architecture, gained from writings of A.J. Downing, inspired him to follow these designs in the homes and buildings he created. 
Grace-Calvary is a beautiful example of Greek Revival architechture. The huge multipaned windows still retain most of the original handblown glass. Within the sanctuary the high pulpit and the altar remain much the same. They express the theology of the period – the centrality of the Word and Sacraments, with preaching occupying the rather more important place, as the size and height of the pulpit suggests. The Reformation in England had brought with it a strong distaste for many of the things Episcopalians now take for granted, such as altar candles, crosses, stained-glass windows, and elaborate vestments for the clergy. This austere approach to worship came to America with the early settlers and is reflected in the simplicity of the interior. The cramped space between the altar and the pulpit suggests that at first there may have been no provision for a Holy Table at all. This was not so, as Van Buren’s original sketches indicate. Instead, the narrow space probably reflects the relative infrequency of Communion among early nineteenth century Episcopalians. Communion was originally celebrated only once or twice a year. A small font was placed in front of the communion rail for baptisms. Babies born during the summer months would have needed to be baptized as soon as possible. (Infant mortality was always a concern in those days.) Weddings would be planned for the winter months back home during the social season. For this reason, there is no center aisle. The boxed pews are a distinguishing feature of the interior, common in early churches, they served to keep drafts off the parishioners. Another way of keeping warm on the journey to church, as well as during the very long services, was to use a portable food warmer. Hot coals were heaped into a metal container which was placed in a tin carrying case. On the long cold drive to the church, the ladies kept the warmer on the floor boards of the buggy under their skirts. The case was then carried by the gentlemen into the church, where it continued to warm the feet of the ladies. No such provision was made for the gentlemen. 
The pews, at one time, were rented to individual families. There is a drawing of such an arrangement with the names of most of the early church members designating their family pew. None of the back rows in the church were rented. Two alterations made over the years have since been returned to their original state. Around the turn of the century, the Reverend William M. Walton removed the high pulpit and replaced it with a dossal drape suspended on a wooden pole. Bishop Nelson was quite upset at the removal. Vestryman William W. Kollock carefully numbered the parts of the structure and preserved them in his barn until a new minister was installed, at which time the pulpit was returned to its original position. |