The Pullman Memorial Universalist Church of Albion, New York was constructed in 1894 (dedicated 1895) as a memorial to the parents of inventor and industrialist George Mortimer Pullman. The structure, built of pink Medina sandstone and featuring fifty-six Tiffany stained glass windowsDuncan, Alaster, Tiffany Windows: The Indispensable Book On Louis C. Tiffany’s Masterworks, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1980 p. 203 and a Johnson pipe organ, is in the Orleans County Courthouse National Historic District. The building has been in constant use since its opening; the congregation affiliating with the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961 but keeping its historic name.
Style
The building was designed by Solon S. Beman in the style of Old English Gothic with Richardsonian Romanesque features. Its long, low horizontal profile outside and its arrangement and general layout inside anticipate modern architectural trends several decades later."Growth, Efficiency, and Modernism. U.S. General Services Administration. 2003 (Revised 2006). pp. 32. Retrieved July 2011. Beman found rough hewn locally quarried Medina pink sandstone complementary to the simple forms and heavy proportions of the Richardsonian style. The result is a compact, centralized building with a tower reminiscent of that over the crossing of Richardson's Trinity Church (1872) in Boston. Beman's use of unpolished stone pierced by unmolded windows that reveal the thickness of the fabric, added to the overall composition of distinct units unified by strong horizontality and subordination to the crossing tower conform to Richardsonian tradition. The main entrance is made of a series of stone moldings, with oak plank doors and decorative wrought iron hinges. Like many Richardson churches, exterior massiveness and sobriety give way to spaciousness and color on the interior.C.W. Lattin (February 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Orleans County Courthouse Historic District ". Retrieved 2011-07-22.
The interior dimensions and curved ceilings are those of a chapel, yet the church can seat 400 (700 with the wide East-side doors opened to the parlor). Inside the main entrance door are bronze bas relief medallions (plaques) designed by sculptor Carl Rohl-Smith – one of Emily Caroline Pullman, the other of James Lewis Pullman.Album of Genealogy and Biography, Cook County, Illinois , Calumet Press, Chicago. 1896. p.233. Retrieved July 26, 2011. Most of the woodwork and cabinetry are of quarter-sawn golden oak in a dark stain. The church sanctuary contains forty-one stained glass windows by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of New York. The three windows facing west in the west transept are made of high-quality hand-rolled glass. The large window depicts the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is signed by Tiffany. In the crossing directly above the pulpit is a ceiling stenciled with blue and gold designs on canvas from which hangs a 45-branch electrolier. The church houses a pipe organ with stenciled gold leaf pipes. To the east, off the sanctuary, are the church parlors, class rooms, kitchen and dining room."Pullman Memorial Church A Gift to the Universalist Denomination" New York Times, Feb.1, 1895 archived article. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
Background
Building a Universalist church in Albion was first proposed by Charles A. Danolds in July, 1890 at Castle Rest, the summer home of Mrs. James Lewis Pullman in the Thousand Islands.Leyendecker, Liston Edgington. "Palace Car Prince: A Biography of George Mortimer Pullman." University Press of Colorado. pp 239. 1992 Danolds asked George Pullman if he would contribute $5,000.00 toward a church in Albion. Pullman replied he "...would be happy to contribute a little money necessary to build a Universalist church in Albion as a memorial to my father [Lewis Pullman]."Signor, Isaac S. "Landmarks of Orleans County, New York" , D. Mason & Company. 1894. p.290-291. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
Lewis Pullman was a Universalist - he joined the church in his former home in Brocton, New York, and led the religious service when the missionary preacher was in another part of the circuit.Leyendecker, Liston Edgington. "Palace Car Prince: A Biography of George Mortimer Pullman." University Press of Colorado. pp 15. 1992 He brought his fervor for Universalism to Albion. It is recounted that when the Pullmans moved to Albion one of the "leading citizens" gave Lewis friendly advice: "I am as strong a believer in Universalism as yourself, but if you want to succeed here, join one of the popular churches and say nothing about your doctrine." However, Lewis Pullman replied, "I can succeed nowhere except as an honest man; I have the courage of my convictions.""Pullman Memorial Church: Gift to Albion, NY Universalist Society" Boston Daily Globe, p. 3. Jan. 28, 1895. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
There were four Universalist churches in the county, but none were thriving. The nearest, to which Charles Danolds belonged, was at Fairhaven (the present-day Childs). The Albion preaching station was part of the Fairhaven charge. In the late 1840s the Fairhaven church was served part-time by whatever ministers were available - there were none at all from 1848 to 1852. In 1852 Rev. William B. Cook moved to Gaines - for four years he preached at Fairhaven and Clarendon until he, too, moved on. Thus Albion Universalists were in the same situation as those in Brocton - when they had a preacher they worshiped at the courthouse, otherwise Lewis Pullman led religious services in private homes. By default, Lewis Pullman served as the resident Universalist minister.
To assure George Pullman that a Universalist church in Albion would begin with enthusiasm, Charles Danolds went home from the Castle Rest meeting and placed an article in the Democratic newspaper outlining Pullman's interested in building a $30,000 Universalist church as a memorial to his father Lewis. Danolds spent the next eleven months rallying support for the project. On June 15, 1891, Pullman stopped at Albion to gauge local interest in the building. Danolds and the Universalists he had gathered displayed enough enthusiasm to satisfy their benefactor. The next step in Danolds' building campaign was a conference.
The Universalist conference to form a church in Albion met at the courthouse on Wednesday-Thursday, July 15–16, 1891. Ten Universalist ministers attended to show their support for the proposed church and to organize the new congregation. The Wednesday meeting was called to order by Charles Danolds. Frank E. Kittredge, an Albion entrepreneur who at that time ran a patent medicine business, was named secretary. Rev. Thomas Borden, of Sherman, gave the keynote address. Knowing the religious liberals of this vicinity from his long pastorate at Fairhaven, he was firm in the belief that a strong Universalist church could be maintained in Albion if those friendly to the cause would commit to the project at the conference.Vail, Charles H. "Historical Souvenir and Directory of the Pullman Universalist Church" 1910. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
The conference then adjourned to the Presbyterian chapel, where the ladies of Fairhaven served dinner. In the afternoon they returned to the courthouse, where the ministers each gave a ten-minute sermon. Rev. Alfred Ellsworth Wright, son of farmer Justus W. Wright of Rich's Corners, who was supplying the Fairhaven church, stated that some could only be Baptists, or Methodists, and others could only be Universalists. Rev. George W. Powell, of Lockport, gave the closing sermon, saying the difference between the Universalists and other denominations was a little word of four letters - LOVE.
On Thursday morning the business committee presented a temporary organization of the Pullman Church Memorial Society of Albion. The society adopted their report and elected the following trustees: Charles A. Danolds, Wm Hallock (also Treasurer), Sheldon Warner, William A. Tanner, Mrs. Seth S. Spencer, Mrs. Frank E. Kittridge, and Mrs. George J. Reed. One hundred people joined the new society and pledged $25 a week to fund weekly services at the courthouse. George Pullman was notified of the gratifying outcome of the conference, and the society got right to business - Rev. A.E. Wright preached the first sermon on July 26.
The church was formally organized under New York State law at a meeting at the courthouse on Tuesday, August 18, 1891. An organizational committee consisting of Seth S. Spencer, John A. Dibble and J. W. Wright was appointed to present a list of by-laws and report a list of Officers. The following were elected: Charles A. Danolds, John Lattin, Mrs. Joseph Hart, Sheldon Warner, Mrs. Seth S. Spencer, William A. Tanner, J. D. Billings, Adelbert Chapman, Mrs. Frank E. Kittredge, George J. Reed (Treasurer) and Frank E. Kittridge (Secretary). The official name of the church became the "Pullman Memorial Universalist Church of Albion"
Raising funds
To ensure matching funds and in-kind donations to the church he was endowing, George Pullman informed the Albion Universalists that his gift depended on the society raising $5,000.00 as a Guarantee Fund. The fund would show that they were serious about their new church and would have the money to maintain the new building once it was built. On the motion of Charles Danolds, the moderator of the organizational meeting appointed ten church members - men and women, lawyers, well-to-do farmers, and entrepreneurs - as a soliciting committee to raise the required money.
The Guarantee Fund committee members gathered subscriptions from loyal Universalists and held several social events. However the society did not have a regular minister to provide leadership - Rev. George W. Powell, who had a church at Lockport, preached for the new society when he could until, in April 1892, he left the ministry to go into public speaking. Thus, nine months after it had begun, fundraising for the new church was bogged down and leaderless. It was during this period that Emily Caroline Pullman died, on May 21, 1892.Leyendecker, Liston Edgington. "Palace Car Prince: A Biography of George Mortimer Pullman." University Press of Colorado. pp 210. 1992 The family came by private car to bury her in Mount Albion Cemetery next to James Lewis Pullman. Another of the Pullman family connections to Albion was gone.
The Guarantee Fund languished into the fall. Then, the New York Universalist Convention stepped in rather than lose the large endowment through lack of interest, and assigned missionary Rev. Daniel Wright to the Albion church. Rev. Wright first preached at Fairhaven on September 11, then at Fairhaven and Albion on September 18. He brought in the Universalist State Superintendent of Churches to preach at Fairhaven, Albion, and the Porter School House, in the Town of Albion. Not conventional Sunday services, they were inspirational meetings to raise money and save the Pullman gift. The size of the Guarantee Fund was announced at each meeting and everyone donated.
Rev. Wright also organized the ladies of the church, on October 11 establishing a ladies' aid society with fourteen members who pledged to raise $500 for the Guarantee Fund. Their first effort was a social event at the residence of Mrs. Joseph S. Hart. Then Rev. Wright organized a two-day conference at the GAR Hall on Thursday-Friday, November 17–18, and invited prominent Universalist clergymen to preach. On Friday night, after the preaching, the Ladies Aid put on a reception and sociable. By the end of that meeting the Guarantee Fund was $4,500.