4 /5 Thomas Miller: In the early 1840s, Mary Warren founded a church.
A quiet plot. Stone laid by hand. Purpose in every line.
By 1844, her son, Nathan B. Warren, raised the nave.
Alexander Jackson Davis designed it—simple Gothic lines, tall windows, deep light.
In late 1848, a chancel took shape.
Richard Upjohn’s work.
Clean arches. Still air.
It was dedicated in January, 1849. Cold outside. Warm candlelight within.
Two years earlier, in 1846, voices filled the space—
America’s first full choral service in an Episcopal church.
In 1863, just south of the church, the Mary Warren Free Institute rose.
A simple building.
For music. For faith.
For learning to sing the sacred.
