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Unsafe church building poses quandary for town

By DAYELIN ROMAN droman@poststar.com | Posted: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 6:25 pm | (0) Comments

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T.J. HOOKER T.J. Hooker - thooker@poststar.com The Darrowsville Church, a former Wesleyan Methodist church in the town of Chester, has been abandoned since the 1930s. Town officials want to demolish what remains of the dilapidated structure for safety reasons but demolition cannot be started until ownership of the building is established.

CHESTER -- Nearly 80 years after the last services were held at Darrowsville Church, all that's left of the building are fragments.

Walls crumbling, windows broken, roof collapsed.

Even Mary Jane Dower, a resident who tried to organize efforts to restore the historic building about 10 years ago, said it's beyond repair.

"It's old and fallen down," she said.

But last month, when town officials discussed razing the dilapidated building for good, one major question remained.

Who owns it?

Town Supervisor Fred Monroe said the church's deed shows trustees who have all passed away, and because churches are tax exempt, there are no records showing who owns it now.

The 1845 church was one of the first Wesleyan Methodist congregations in the nation, and while Dower said a group of Wesleyan Methodists in Glens Falls claimed ownership some years back, the group referred a Post-Star reporter to the church's regional office, which did not recognize the building as one of their own.

"We really want to be in touch with whoever owns it," Monroe said.

At the last Town Board meeting, officials said they didn't think what's left of the structure would make it through the winter, and were concerned it posed a safety hazard, especially since residents regularly visit the cemetery just next to the church.

And while Dower told officials at the meeting she had proof that the Glens Falls Wesleyan Methodists owned the structure, more than a week later, Monroe said he still hadn't seen any documents proving that.

Donna Lagoy, the town's historian, said the question of ownership has come up every time groups of residents have gotten together to try to restore the church. Such efforts happened in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, she said.

"You'd think they could figure it out," Lagoy said.

Warren County Clerk Pam Vogel said the unusual issue will take some legal research to figure out.

When Vogel checked a database of civil actions dating back to 1917, she found nothing related to the church.

"It's unfortunate, but that's what happens," she said. "It's probably going to take a legal action and go from there."

Vogel said the town could take action based on health and safety codes, deeming the building unsafe and leveling it without finding an owner.

But Monroe said he'd rather find the owner than one turning up after the building gets bulldozed.

Lagoy said the church is widely known in town to have been a stop on the underground railroad after the pastor, Thomas Baker, was a staunch abolitionist.

Services at the church technically ended in 1930, Lagoy said, but funerals continued to be held there until 1937. Two attempts to reopen in 1940 and 1954 failed because of low attendance.

Since then, the building has continued on a path toward deterioration, temporarily paused by efforts to restore it.

Dower said back when she was the president of the town's historical society and tried to lead restoration efforts, she found little interest.

"Nobody was interested in saving it," she said. "I was very disappointed."

So the wood continued to rot. The roof came crumbling down. One wall stands only with the help of a stake anchored against it.

"It's not in good shape," Lagoy said. "The concern is safety."

And while it seems like the town has unanimously decided what the building's fate should be, the mystery of ownership still clouds its future.

"It's surprising nobody has come forward after all these years," Monroe said.

Posted in Local on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 6:25 pm Updated: 9:33 am. | Tags:

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