Gallatin Community Church to join National Historic Register

GALLATIN — History buffs will have a chance to dip their toes into the stream of time during a celebration of the listing of the Gallatin Community Church on the Interior Department’s National Register of Historic Places on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. 

A descendent of one of those families, Rodney Bathrick, will speak about his eight decades in the area. Two members of Rhinebeck chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution will also attend.

When they do so, it will surely be with a nod to those who have come before and who now rest in the gentle hillside cemetery, which, along with the former parsonage, is included in the honor.

Originally the Greenbush Dutch Reform Church of Gallatin, its first baptism was recorded in its inaugural year of 1748, with the first grave marked in 1770. 

The white church at the base of the cemetery, a replacement for the original, has gone through many name changes over the years but, according to the registry application the  “property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.”

According to Pastor Robert Rogoshewski, the church’s historical importance in the area  cannot be overstated as it was the “mother church to all 14 associated congregations in the area,” a fact that was pivotal in the acceptance to the registry. 

Although the original building was eventually condemned, a replacement, erected between 1823 and 1824, was recognized by the registry “to be historically significant as an example of the Wren-Gibbs type Protestant meetinghouse,” a widely used construction, explained Pastor Rogoshewski.

That building was modified in 1872 to allow the installation of the church’s pride and joy, a Boston Steep organ, which will be featured at a musical presentation at the Oct. 3 celebration. 

The registration, which was approved on July 29, was accomplished after a four-year process that required extensive local research and a 48-page report, in addition to two detailed inspections of the entire property by a representative of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. 

Approval there led to the inclusion on the state historic registry and the nomination to the national registry. 

Rogoshewski said when he and his wife, Melissa Curtis, arrived at the church nearly six years ago, they were surprised to learn that it was not listed on any registry despite its rich history, which included strong support for independence by its pastor, John H. Livingston, both before and during the American Revolution.

The couple decided to take on the registry project when their natural interest in that period grew after moving into their own historic home, which is located about a mile from the church. 

That building began its life in 1770 as a general store and stagecoach stop. It once sheltered General Henry Knox and his company as they stopped during the arduous wintery 1775-76 and their 300-mile trek from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. 

There, they captured 60 tons of cannons and artillery that were key to the American victory at The Battle of Bunker (Breeds) Hill.

Their home was built by Militia Captain Hugh Rea, who is buried in the cemetery with more than a dozen of his Minutemen, whom Rogoshewski describes as “patriotic heroes.” 

With them are numerous members of the area’s founding families — many of whose names are recognizable today — whose tombstones also contributed to the inclusion on the registry as they provide “a broad range of funerary art.”

Although the “all volunteer” church is currently home to only 10 congregants, Rogoshewski said he feels it is in good hands with painting and repairs funded in part by the Ladies Auxiliary and its twice a month soup sales, which run from October through April.

With the inclusion of the Gallatin Community Church on the National Registry, other funds may become available to help fulfill future needs to maintain the historical nature of the building, which  Rogoshewski said, “you feel just as soon as you walk in.”