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It’s the year 1733 as I see the pale,
lanky, white-bearded man walk carefully and cautiously up the
stairs. He is in a hurry because it is one minute until twelve
o’clock in the afternoon. At last he reaches the top of
the ladder and snatches a long rope. The village then hears twelve
long, beautiful, soft rings of the bell. People, who look like
ants to the man, scurry into the church. He climbs back down
the ladder and waits until one o’clock when he must rise
again to the heights of the church to carry out the duty of ringing
the church’s bell once again. The Rhinebeck Reformed Church
is the oldest church still running and functioning in America.
The Livingstons and Beekmans established the church in 1733. |
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The Rhinebeck Reformed Church is the oldest
church still functioning in America. Once Rhinebeck was made
up of just the church and the Beekman Arms. The Livingstons and
the Beekmans established the church in 1731, and by June 1731,
the first wooden church was built facing the Post Road, Route
9, near the Sepasco Trail, South Street. The church remained
there until 1809 when it was moved to its location today. During
the building of the church, both poor and rich members wanted
to contribute to it. The rich members purchased bricks for two
of the church's walls. The consistery then told the poorer members
that if they brought in fieldstone, they could build the wall
facing the graveyard and one other wall with the stones. “I
don’t know any other church made of bricks and stones,”
said Pastor Bob Vanderlon, the man I interviewed. Also, the glass
of the church is still the original 1809 glass. I was told that
if you look carefully at the glass you will notice that it looks
kind of rippled and wavy because of the way people made glass
in the 1800’s.
Forty-two American Revolution soldiers and one British officer
are buried in the church graveyard. Also, three people are buried
in the church’s pulpit. If you walk down the stairs, you
will see three tombstones and the dead bodies’ lay buried
under them. At one point in time, the Livingstons had a mansoleum,
or a large tomb, over the graveyard. Lastly, if you go into the
church’s sanctuary and look in the pews, there are plaques
that state if an important person sat there and also tell you
who they are. Also on the walls of the church there are plaques
that tell about the Livingstons and Beekmans and describe each
family member. The church also has a bell, which is used to draw
people to the church and is used as a fire alarm. |
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