According to the Village of Ossining Downtown Walking Tour:

The First Presbyterian Church is a High Victorian Gothic style structure built in 1870 to house the congregation of the same name. The congregation’s previous church, located in the Sparta neighborhood, was damaged during the Revolutionary War. This prompted the congregation to build a new structure on the site of the current Trinity Episcopal Church at 7 South Highland Avenue in 1803. As the congregation grew, this church was expanded several times until it was no longer adequate to house all those who wished to worship there. The present church was constructed from 1868 to 1870 for a cost of approximately $95,000 by contractor Peter H. Terhune of Binghamton, NY and designed by Isaac Gale Perry, one of the designers of the New York State Capitol building.

I was attracted to the rather unique shape of the stone surrounding the doorway. The word over the door read “To the Triune God”.

According to the church’s own website:

Our church came into being on June 28, 1763, when the Presbytery of Dutchess County delegated the Rev. John Smith, of White Plains, to conduct monthly worship service in homes in the Ossining area. Our first church was built in 1768 in the area now known as Sparta cemetery.

The first building was damaged in the Revolutionary War, and a new one was built in the village of Sing Sing, on the site of the present Trinity Episcopal Church, in 1803.

To accommodate further increases in the congregation, the present building was completed in 1870, with the high steeple on the south tower serving as a navigational aid for river traffic. The building was extensively renovated and modernized in the mid-1950’s, including the removal of the tall steeple and the addition of Sunday school rooms.

Today our Church houses an active ministry to Ossining and local community groups, in addition to a myriad of congregational activities.

It’s a pity that the spectacular, high steeple was removed!

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.