The last walking tour of this summer was the annual tour of Jamestown churches, held on August 5, 2023.
The group started at Tree of Life Evangelical Lutheran Church (former Holy Trinity Lutheran) on Forest Avenue. The Rev. Timothy Hoyer, church pastor, gave a very informative talk and had a display of photos. The original Holy Trinity Lutheran Church was started in the late 1800s by Lutherans who wanted their services in English, not Swedish. The first church was on West Fourth Street in downtown Jamestown, and the congregation moved to Forest Avenue in the late 1950s.
The second church this year was Pilgrim Memorial United Church of Christ at Forest and McKinley Avenues. The Rev. Rick Miller was our host, assisted by Ralph Farrar, who is the church organist and church historian. Pilgrim Memorial Chapel was originally dedicated in 1888 and was renovated and enlarged in 1915. Within the past few years, the church welcomed the members of the former first Congregational Church from downtown Jamestown.
St. James Roman Catholic Church was our third stop, where Seminarian Teko-Agbo gave us a tour of the church and shared very interesting information about the Saints whose statues are in the church Sanctuary. St. James Church was begun in 1910 to minister to Italian immigrants. The “old St. James” was dedicated in 1915. This church served the Parish until 1966, and the current church was built and dedicated in 1968.
The last stop was at Kidder Memorial Church on South Main Street where Fenton members Mr. and Mrs. Todd LeRoy welcomed us. Kidder Church began as a Sunday School on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Kidder on South Main Street Extension. They eventually built a chapel on the farm, which was then moved to the church’s current location at South Main and Cole Avenue. The church was built in the late 1920s and dedicated in March 1929.
Thank you to those who attended and the church representatives who welcomed us!
