Fair Street Church
The Congregation of the Fair Street
Reformed Church meets here in the oldest
public worship building in Kingston.
Established as the Second Reformed Church
of Kingston in January, 1849, the small
group of 27 people originally met for worship
in the County Court House on Wall Street.
In 1850 construction of the church began,
using local dolomite limestone taken from a
quarry on upper Pearl Street. The church was
originally graced by a steeple purported to be
the highest of its time out of New York City.
On March 17, 1854, Good Friday, it was
blown over in a very heavy gale. No one was
hurt and only the front steps of the church
were damaged by the fall. The Congregation
believed this was a sign of God’s displeasure
with their pride over the height of the
steeple, and they vowed never to replace it.
Marker is on Fair Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
