This historic Lower Hudson Valley church is up for sale months after closing
For more than 130 years, the steeple atop the First Presbyterian Church of Congers has looked out over this historic hamlet.
The steeple’s bell has been quiet since last May when the venerable congregation closed its doors amid dwindling attendance.
The house of worship on Highway Avenue, which opened its doors in 1891, is on the market for $500,000. A pair of stained glass windows, antique wooden pews and pulpit remain as testament to the generations of local families who prayed, sang and studied there.
Ann Drescher McGrade, a lifelong Congers resident who attended the church from the age of 5 until its closing, said membership had decreased from a high point of about 80 people.
McGrade said the decision made by the congregation’s council to close was an emotional one. At the time she was ruling elder, secretary, organist and helped out as treasurer.
“It hit me like a shot when it finally happened,” McGrade, 84, said of the closing. “I could see it and other people could see it coming, and we tried everything over the years” to bolster membership. “It’s very difficult.”
She added: “We were like a big family when I was a kid growing up there. … I think there were about 35-40 kids in Sunday school.”
At one point, Ann McGrade, her sister Edna Mae, and their mother, Edna, all sang in the church choir.
A publication celebrating the church’s centennial called the congregation “steadfast, persistent and full of hope for the future.”
The Rev. Jeffrey Geary, who chairs the commission established by the Hudson River Presbytery to manage the church’s closure, called Congers “a tenacious, can-do congregation, whether in support of charitable missions, the Christmas boutique, or renovating the building and raising funds to purchase a manse.”
Congers church 'not a restoration'
The 5,540-square-foot building houses the church and a Fellowship Hall, which was added in 1939. It was originally constructed of clapboard, brick and cinder block and later covered with aluminum siding.
The sale is being handled by Maureen Pellegrini of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty. Pellegrini has a long-time devotion to preserving historic buildings; she owns the Silkmill, a former factory on the Sparkill Creek in Piermont that she and her husband, the late Roger Pellegrini, renovated as housing.
She said a number of congregations have expressed interest in acquiring the Congers church, which “is in very, very good shape. This is not a restoration. It’s a caretaking of a place that they love.”
The property sits in a neighborhood of well-maintained homes bordered by Congers, Swartwout and Rockland lakes. Residents are hoping it remains a church, Pellegrini said.
The half-acre parcel is zoned R-15, which allows medium density residential development. It could remain a house of worship as long as that occurs within a year because it’s a pre-existing nonconforming use, according to Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann.
“I’m happy to work with the congregation and their representatives” to help effectuate a sale, said Hoehmann. “We’re looking forward to that property being revitalized and continuing to serve the residents of Clarkstown.”
An article in the Sept. 5, 1891, Rockland County Journal reads: “The First Presbyterian Church being erected at Congers is now nearing completion, and when it is finished it will be a valuable and attractive addition to that locality. It is not a pretentious building, but is neat and comfortable.”
The newspaper reported the church’s membership as 47 in its April 28, 1900, edition.
Robert Brum is a freelance journalist who writes about the Hudson Valley. Contact him and read his work at robertbrum.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Historic Clarkstown NY church for sale after closing in Hudson Valley
