=> Forming => History => St John's
=> Forming => History => St John's
This material is taken from two page narrative bearing the title "History of St. John's Church Haverhill, MASS." The author and date are unknown. Headings have been added to provide structure.
As a prologue to the subsequent history of the Church, I would say a few words about the Wingate Family. Moses Wingate, the patriarch of the family, was born in the 1790's. He was a prosperous business man and civic leader of the town. In 1828, he was one of the founders of the Haverhill Savings Bank (now known as the Family Mutual Savings Bank). He was a large landowner in what is now known as ward 5. He owned all the land then called Sergeant's Square (now known as Lafayette Square). His homestead was a large, comfortable farm house style which was located at the corner of Broadway and Hilldale Ave., now occupied by commercial enterprises. He and Mrs. Lucy Wingate had one son, Charles Edward Wingate.
Charles was not inclined to enter into business life but was more interested in the classics. In 1875, Charles built a small church on the corner of Broadway and Thorndike Street which was a part of the Wingate Homestead.
At that point in time, many English textile workers were migrating to the United States from the textile centers of the English Midlands. The woolen mill owned by Moses Stevens and the Hale Flannel Mill in South Groveland, owned by E.M.J. Hale, attracted these English immigrants to Haverhill. Many of these people were Episcopalians or Anglicans as they were known in England, welcomed the new St. John's Church of Charles Wingate which was close to their homes. They were the nucleus of the new church.
In 1904, the Reverend Charles Witcomb Tyler, then Rector of Trinity Church in Newcastle, Pa, was eager to find a pastorate in the Diocese of Massachusetts. He communicated with the Right Reverend William A. Lawrence, then Bishop of Massachusetts regarding an opening in. the Diocese. Bishop Lawrence replied that he had an opening in a Mission church in Haverhill, and if he was interested, he would be considered. | He mentioned that the church had fallen into disunity due to being without a regular pastor. If, after Dr. Tyler came here and looked over the situation and didn't like it, Bishop Lawrence said he would find another place for him.
The little church that the Reverend Charles Wingate had built on the corner of Broadway and Thorndike Street was still usable, so Dr. Tyler began his ministry there to pick up the pierces of the scattered congregation. As there was no rectory with the church, he rented a house on the corner of Broadway and Whitcomb Street and installed his family.
In the next two to three years, there was a trend occurring for some of the congregation to move from that neighborhood to the Main Street area in Ward 6. Dr. Tyler sensed that trend quickly and went about to remedy it. On the corner of Main Street and Sheridan Street, the Bay State Street Railway had in the very early years of this century Horse Car barns and a blacksmith shop there. Horse cars had been discontinued and the property was for sale. Dr. Tyler looked into this and thought that this would be an ideal situation for St. John's. Getting in touch with the Street Railway Company, a deal was made and with the assistance of the Missionary Department of the Diocese, it was purchased.
In 1909, a combination church and Parish hall was built. The Church part was on the second floor and the Parish Hall with kitchen was on the first floor.
A large portion of the land was left vacant on the corner of Main and Sheridan Streets, as Dr. Tyler had hoped to erect a substantial church building on it. That move to Sheridan Street proved to be a correct one as most of "the congregation did move to Ward 6.
In 1910, the little original church on Broadway was demolished and Dr. Tyler contracted to have a Rectory built besides the present church building. The rectory was designed by him and many of his ideas proved practical. A large living room was in the plans. He did this thinking that some of the mid-week services in the winter time could be held here, thus saving heating the Church proper. The Rectory proved to be sufficiently large to accommodate future rectors' families.
The church thrived in its new location. A large and active Men's Club was formed. They gave Minstrel Shows that were popular at that time and the Women's Guilds served supper for the public.
The old colonial house, which for years had housed the Wingate family, was demolished and the entire Wingate property from Thorndike Street to Hilldale Avenue was devoid of buildings with the exception of the Wingate School, a public grammar school. The Wingate Estate sold off two large lots but gave St. John's Church two lots on the corner of Broadway and Thorndike Street on which the original church stood. In 1914 to 1916, Dr. Tyler had built two 2-family houses on the lots. The income from them was for the benefit of St. John's Church. Those houses were completed just before the labor and lumber prices jumped due to the beginning of World War One. Across on Thorndike Street, Dr. Tyler purchased for the church an existing dwelling which he converted into a 3-family house. This also benefited the church.
These properties ran successfully for many years until 1948 when it was deemed proper by the vestry that with a strong demand for property in the aftermath of World War Two, these properties were sold and the proceeds went into an endowment fund.
Coming to a disorganized parish in 1905 and wondering what could be done to savage it, he saw its potential and settled right into the parish work for 19 years. On August 31, 1924, Dr. Tyler at age 62 passed away while sitting on the porch of the Rectory.
I believe the subsequent parish records will tell the history of St. John's Church from 1924 forward to 1943 when St. John's and Trinity Episcopal Churches agreed to merge.
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