Westminster Presbyterian Church

Westminster Presbyterian Church. . , The founding of First Presbyterian Church in 1811 began a long history of Presbyterianism in Auburn. , As the city’s population grew, several Presbyterian churches were founded in 1818, the Auburn Theological Seminary was established to prepare young clergy to serve in the American west and on foreign missions. The seminary helped place Auburn as a center of religious thought and attracted Presbyterians from across the state. , The seminary operated in Auburn until 1939 when it moved to New York City. Willard Chapel is all that remains of the original seminary buildings. , Westminster Presbyterian Church dates its birth in 1861, when the Rev. Henry Fowler was forced to leave Second Presbyterian Church because of the controversy he caused there by his frequent abolitionist sermons and by praying publicly for the soul of John Brown. A group of 66 abolitionist members of the Second followed the Rev. Fowler to start a new church. , The congregation first purchased property next to the courthouse on Genesee and William Streets and constructed a basement chapel, with plans to later build a church. Harriet Tubman was married to Pvt. Nelson Charles Davis in the basement chapel in 1869 and Frederick Douglass gave a lecture there. , Tiffany Rainbow Window. In 1910, a Titfany window depicting the 23rd Psalm was given by Janet Seward in memory of her mother Margaret Standart Watson, an early member of the church, Janet was William Henry Seward’s daughter-in-law. , Other Places To See Tiffany Stained Glass In Auburn. Cayuga Museum of History and Art , 203 Genesee Street. Located in the former Willard Case Mansion, the museum features a window made by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of NYC. Installed around 1897, it was commissioned by Caroline and Georgianna Willard, who also gave the funds for the Willard Chapel at the Auburn Theological Seminary, in honor of their parents. , Willard Memorial Chapel , 17 Nelson Street. Built in 1892-1894, Willard Chapel boasts an interior designed and handcrafted entirely by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. It is the only known complete and unaltered religious interior completely designed by Tiffany. , Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London, England, in 1844, and the Auburn branch was organized in 1859, one of the earliest YMCAs in the United States of America. , In its early years, the YMCA held Bible Study meetings in rented rooms at 80 Genesee Street. , The original building seen here, built in 1885, was located at. 64-66 Genesee Street, next to The Phoenix Building. , The YMCA moved to its William Street location in 1939 - the building in front of you on the left. , The Women’s Educational and Industrial Union (WEIU) merged with the YMCA in the late 1960s and moved operations to the YMCA building.