New York Avenue Presbyterian Church at Herald Square

New York Avenue Presbyterian Church at Herald Square. Civil War to Civil Rights.

"The churches are needed as never before for divine services.

, So said President Lincoln from his pew in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. While other churches were occupied by the federal government and used as offices and hospitals during the Civil War, Lincoln insisted that this church remain open for worship. The pastor, Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, was the president's spiritual guide through the war and during the fatal illness of Lincoln's young son, Willie, who on his deathbed left his small savings of $5 to the church., President Lincoln regularly traveled the short distance from the White House to attend this church. Seeking solace in its midweek Bible classes, he sequestered himself in an adjacent room with the door ajar lest he disturb the others with his presence., The church was founded by Presbyterian carpenters working on the grounds of the White House in 1793. Lincoln's hitching post remains outside; his pew still stands in this somewhat enlarged, 1950s replica of the original church., A document in Lincoln's handwriting, proposing that the federal government end slavery by paying owners to free their slaves, is displayed in the church's Lincoln parlor. This plan was carried out, but only in Washington, D.C., The church dominates an area now called Herald Square, named for the Washington Times-Herald newspaper, which once occupied the white building at 1307 New York Avenue. Here publisher Eleanor Medill "Cissy" Patterson created the nation's first round-the-clock newspaper and became one of the country's most powerful women. Socialite, businesswoman, and political activist, Patterson was a dominant force in the city until her death in 1948.