Building date: 1841
Original use: Church
Corner structures: Blocks of stone pilasters
Mortar application and content: Vertical pyramids. Vertical, practically no embellishment in mortar.
Types and uses of stones: Smooth, egg shaped stones gathered by the congregation from the shore of Lake Ontario and under the supervision of stone mason Emery Smith.
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
Masons who worked on building: Emery Smith - Schmidt states Fred Shy.
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is GIS Database and Google Earth confirmed; 43°12'39.27"N 78°28'36.74"W. Current owner of record, Yaze Properties LLC as of date (YMD) 190304.
The adjoined structure to the left has a street address of 48 Main Street, whereas the published address for the church is 44 Main. The property parcel is listed as 48 Main Street.
NOTE
Town of Royalton and Niagara County Maps
First Universalist Church at 44 Main St., Middleport was organized in April, 1841. The church was built on land donated by John Craig. It was constructed of smooth, egg shaped stones gathered by the congregation from the shore of Lake Ontario and under the supervision of stone mason Emery Smith. Reverend Linus Everett was chosen to dedicate the church in 1842. In 1870 the Middleport Church was valued at $8 thousand dollars with the only church bell within the village as well as the first organ. Due to diminished membership, the church closed in 2015 and the building was sold. Many of their books and some other artifacts were donated to the office of the village historian. Richard Palmer blog.
"The Cobblestone Houses of Upstate New York", compiled by Dorothy Wells Pease. Research done in collaboration with Hazed B. Jeffery, supplemented with material furnished by Carl F. Schmidt. Reference the eleventh paragraph on page 8.
UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF MIDDLEPORT. The first time that the doctrine of this denomination was ever preached in or near Middleport, Judge A. S. Baker procured the services of Rev. Linus S. Everett, who preached in a little frame school-house, at what was then called Ewing's Corners, half a mile south of Middleport. The text on that occasion was Acts ii., 39; and the first hymn sung was, "Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove," etc.
After this the Universalists met for worship in the brick school-house, which is now standing opposite the M. E. church, and occupied by Dr. E. L. Cole as a residence. They continued to meet here until their church was built.
When the society was finally organized, Rev. Mr. Whitnall was in charge. He was formerly a sailor; was on board Nelson's flagship at the battle of Trafalgar, and helped to carry Nelson below when mortally wounded. He was one of those eccentric ministers not often met with. He was succeeded by Rev. Messrs. Hammond, Knapp, Kelsey, Van Campen, Chase, and others.
For a long time Mrs. Judge A. S. Baker was the only woman who would or did attend the Universalist meetings, and she was for a long time the only female member of the society.
In 1841 the society built the present church edifice, which is of stone and brick, located at the corner of Main and Church streets. The cost of the building was $10,000. The society has a sinking fund of $5,000.
In 1871 the society repaired the church at a cost of $2,000, putting in a pipe organ, costing $800.
There are at present thirty communicants, forty-five families connected with the congregation and an average attendance of 112. The value of the church property is $15,000. Rev. Mr. Hutchins is the present pastor.
The Sunday-school connected with this church is also connected with the County Sunday-school Institute, which meets every two months. The following have been superintendents of the school: B. F. King, James Baker, Lucy Hurd, E. J. Swain, Samuel Ward, Ira Congdon, Violetta Spalding. There are eighty-four scholars on the roll, and the average attendance is fifty-three. The library has 177 volumes. Linus S. Freeman is the present superintendent. "History of Niagara County, N.Y.", Sanford & Company N.Y. 1878, p. 355, courtesy Cornell University Library.
"A History of Our Church", by Octavia S. Thaxter, 20 pages, June 5, 1966. Editor's Note: The original copy is a blue mimeograph; therefore, even with reasonable Photoshop post processing, the legibility of this digital copy does vary, but overall the document is readable.
The Cobblestone Society & Museum Tours:
First Universalist Church 6th Annual 06/06/1964
- "Cobblestone Architecture", 1944, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, First Universalist Church
- Page 23, Page 57
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, First Universalist Church
- Page 83, Page 247, Page 319
- "Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State", 1978, by Olaf William Shelgren, Jr., Cary Lattin, and Robert W. Frasch, Photographs by Gerda Peterich: Name reference, 1st Universalist Church
- Pages 74 - 75
- "The Era of Cobblestone Architecture", unpublished manuscript 1972. To access the manuscript content about this structure, see 47. Niagara County, First Universalist Church, and 169. Niagara County, First Universalist Church.
 Roy-3 1st Universalist Church_47A4869.jpg ¹ Photograph taken and furnished by Grant Vary. |  Royalton_44_Main_St._Middleport.jpg ² |  Roy-3 1st Universalist Church 1.jpg ¹ Pease Collection 1940-41 |  Roy-3 1st Universalist Church 3.jpg ¹ ca. 1966 ? |
 Roy-3 1st Universalist Church 2.jpg ¹ Spruce Trees removed June 1966 |  GP Niagara Royalton Roy-3_1 N.jpg ³ June 1969 |  GP Niagara Royalton Roy-3_3 N.jpg ³ June 1969 |  Roy_3_1.jpg |
 Roy_3_2.jpg |  Roy_3_3.jpg |  Roy_3_4.jpg |  Roy_3_5.jpg |
 Roy-3 1st Universalist Church 4.jpg ¹ |  Roy-3 44 Main St 1.jpg 4 |  Roy-3 44 Main St 2.jpg 4 |  Roy-3 44 Main St 3.jpg 4 |
 Roy-3 44 Main St 4.jpg 4 |  Roy-3 44 Main St 5.jpg 4 |  Royalton_44_Main_St._281_29.jpg 5 |  Royalton_4r_Main_St._Middleport_282_29.jpg 5 |
¹ Image courtesy Cobblestone Museum.
² Image provided by Richard Palmer.
³ Photography courtesy Gerda Peterich. Cobblestone Museum.
4 Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
5 Photography courtesy Richard Palmer.
Editor's Note: Additional duplicate views or poor quality photographs are not included here and on file in the Cobblestone Museum Archives.
