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The Building

During the period between 1901 and 1903, the organ was moved from the slave balcony and relocated to the front of the church after removing the pews to the right of the communion railing. It may have been moved because of the seasonal heat and cold in the gallery, or perhaps because the congregation was so small (only six Episcopalians in Clarkesville at this time). Perhaps the organist needed companionship! It was also convenient. One parishoner recalled an occasion when there was no organist and the minister “stepped over the communion rail and played the hymn and then stepped back to continue the service.” The organ was returned to the balcony when the church was restored in 1975.

The Erben organ itself is one of the treasures of the church. Today it is the oldest working pipe organ of it’s kind in Georgia. A ladies group in the church called the Hope Society commissioned it in 1848. These good folk were also instrumental in purchasing a marble Baptismal font, bronze candlesticks, a Communion Service, and the church bell, cast by George Hildbrook, of East Medway, Mass. and installed in 1852.

The Erben Organ Factory was located in New York. Henry Erben, the son of a Dutch organist named Peter Ergben, lived from 1800 to 1884, and during his lifetime his firm is credited with building some 1700 organs. Construction of an instrument usually took a year. Each was designed specifically for the location where it was to be placed. However, some lack of communication must have arisen, because in a note of August 14, 1848, the builder, Mr. Van Buren says, “I have examined the church in relation to putting up the organ and find it but 8 feet 5 ½ inches from the gallery floor to the ceiling, consequently one foot too low, the sketch being 9 feet 5 inches high. If you will come by any day of this week we will have a consultation over it to determine what will be best to be done.” Apparently what was done was the lowering of the center part of the slave gallery to accommodate the instrument. A bill for services in 1848 listed “For altering gallery - $10.00, putting up scaffolding and taking down - $3.00.”

The organ was designed to be complete disassembled. In this manner it was transported from New York to Savannah, then upriver by steamboat to Augusta and finally overland by wagon to Clarkesville.

Through all the lean years, despite lack of repairs, the organ remained in use. The case fo the Erben was made up of a group of handsome but mute pipes. The wood is black walnut with the original finish still intact. The ivory keyboard folds up and a knee panel turns up to loosen the opening. All pipes are enclosed in a swell box. Beneath the lowest horizontal swell shutter is a non-working shutter which provides access to the oboe tuning wires. The folding keyboard was popular until about 1860. Erben was an exponent of “good Diapason choruses”. His instruments are particularly good for accompanying congregational singing. This one is pitched at 435, date before the 440 international pitch. It also predates the organs that began to be built in the 1850s with more romantic tonal quality. The Grace-Calvary Erben retains the Baroque quality found in earlier European organs.

On July 24, 1972, work was begun on the cleaning of the organ and the installation of an electric blower. The organ had formerly been manually pumped, usually by a small, often not too inspired, boy recruited from the congregation. It was always interesting to try and follow the variations of rhythm as the pumper’s energy waxed and waned. The repair work was completed July 31, 1972, and the report on the work observed that this is the only Erben still in use in Georgia.

Electricity, air conditioning and heat have provided the creature comforts for the twentieth-century communicant. Grace-Calvary’s sanctuary still remains the only basically unaltered Episcopal structure of the originally six parishes in the state. While the building remains a constant reminder of the past, the ever-changing congregation reflects movements of the church in new directions of stewardship. Yet like the old trees that surround the sanctuary, there is always a unique feeling of deep roots amid fresh new growth.

The history of this church reflects much of the area where it is located. One of the early ministers referred to Grace as a “snap bean church”, since the congregation lasted only until the last picking of the summer beans. Reverend William Eppes noted in his report of 1862 to the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Georgia: “On the whole, hard labor and late fruit are the prospects here. It could not be otherwise as things are situated. The people are personally kind and there is nothing to discourage patience and faith. May God grant His blessings to the work and people.”

God in His own good time has brought us where we are today. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we shall continue our mission and ministry in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

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