St. John's Episcopal Church on Bay Street in Rosebank, like Christ Church, is another monument to the importance of wealthy Episcopalians on Staten Island in days gone by.
St. John's Episcopal Church, ca. 1940,
built in 1871 to address congregational growth
St. John's Episcopal Church - 2013
St. John's Rectory - ca. 1940
St. John's Rectory - 2013
The parish began organizing in 1843 at the home of William B. Townsend. His estate was along Bay Street, then called New York Avenue, between Willow Avenue and Lynhurst Avenue (then called Maple Avenue). He and several other prominent Islanders, all of whom were “Protestant in the rejection of all unscriptural additions to the faith; Episcopal and Catholic in her creed, government and three-fold ministry,” were successful and charitable men. Several were members of the St. George's Society of New York and co-founders of the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children of Seamen, today called Seamen's Society for Children and Families. According to the church's website, the first baptism at St. John's was of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, one of Commodore Vanderbilt's grandsons.
From St. John's website - the original church building
A decade ago, I wrote about the wedding of Miss Anne Flemming Cameron, third daughter of Sir Roderick Cameron, and Mr. Belmont Tiffany, grandson of Commodore Matthew Perry. You can see the picture and read about it HERE. It's hard to picture Staten Island as a preserve of the truly wealthy and notable, but once upon a time, it was the case.
St. John's website is a treasure trove of pictures and details the parish's long and complex history: rectors came and went, the congregation grew and then shrank as mainline Protestantism waned in the latter third of the twentieth century, and plans were made to help the church survive by building housing for seniors. In all my life, I've only known one person who ever attended St. John's. The one time I was on the grounds was when I attended some meetings for the Order of the Arrow at the old parish hall. That the parish survives despite the fading away of Episcopalianism and the drastically changed demographics of Rosebank would seem to be an indicator of God's grace.
From St. John's website - Nativity Windows
See the rest of the windows HERE
The one lasting legacy I could have identified up until last year was St. Simon's Episcopal Church over on Richmond Road. It was founded as a German mission in 1856 on Targee Street before moving Clove Road, and in 1960, to Richmond Road when the Staten Island Expressway was built. Last year, after 156 years, citing an aging and diminished congregation, it closed.
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