After Devastating Fire, Church Rises From Ashes

SOUTHOLD, NY — The faith and belief of a congregation have fueled the rebirth of a beloved North Fork church lost to a devastating fire.

A GoFundMe page, "First Universalist Rises from Ashes" was created to help finance the rebuilding of the church on its original site "on the bend" of Main Road in Southold.

The GoFundMe aims to raise $500,000 to bring the total funds for the project up to $2.4 million.

The community mourned when the church was lost on March 14, 2015 after 178 glorious years. A heartbroken congregation, which has continued to meet at other houses of worship, vowed to hold steady in their mission of seeing the church rise again.

"In just 15 minutes, the sanctuary was completely engulfed in flames. By the time firefighters from six different departments were able to subdue the flames, the sanctuary had been reduced to a pile of cinders and ash; the parish hall was a charred shell," Susan Pond, church treasurer and creator of the GoFundMe page, said. "The loss was unimaginable — not just to our congregation, but to the entire community."

The historic building, known as the “Church on the Bend,” stood "as a beacon at the entrance to the hamlet of Southold for close to two centuries. Even for those who never passed through its doors, it was the nostalgic, welcoming sight they anticipated as they approached Southold’s historic district from the west," Pond said.

Despite the tremendous loss, the congregation has long vowed to carry on and work toward rebuilding.

"A church is more than just a building — it is a family. With the support of our entire community, we have been able to find space for worship services, church activities, and meetings," Pond said.

Even the free Community Thanksgiving Dinner has continued to take place, at the Southold American Legion Hall, across from the church property, Pond said.

The goal is to build a new church, the page said, to usher in a new chapter in its long history.

The The First Universalist Church of Southold first established in 1835, and the original building, designed by Richard Lathers, was dedicated in 1837.

"Until the fire, First Universalist was the longest-standing Unitarian Universalist house of worship on Long Island. The unique Gothic Palladian window over the front entrance was one of the only ones in existence in the United States," Pond explained.

The Ladies Society, in the late 1870s, helped to raise funds to refurbish the church; which was rededicated in 1878. Further significant renovations — including new carpeting, interior decorations, and electric lighting — were made in 1922 in preparation for the installation of the church’s pipe organ, the page said.

In 1926, American painter Edith Mitchill Prellwitz created a large tri-paneled mural, “The Light of the World,” in memory of her parents on the front wall of the sanctuary. The church’s iconic steeple underwent major repair in 1991, and in 1995 an addition was made to the parish hall by architect Richard Daly.

Plans for the new church aim to be respectful of the fact that the church is located in the town's historic district, with church members consulting with the Southold Historic Preservation Commission and town board, Pond said. "We are also mindful of our responsibility as stewards of the environment."

"While we recognize that we cannot afford to build an exact replica of our old church, we want to do our best to build a church that will complement the architecture of the surrounding district, honor the history of our place in the community, and serve once again as a welcoming beacon on the North Fork, while at the same time respecting the environment and providing a legacy for future generations," she said.

With the funding, the goal is to create a fellowship hall that will serve the needs of the community; incorporate “green” technology that will reduce the building's environmental footprint; include some of the original sanctuary’s historic architectural features, such as the Palladian-style windows; and, cover the cost of the new building code upgrades required by federal, state and county agencies, Pond said.

Groundbreaking is expected to take place in the fall of 2018.

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

Watercolor rendering of new sanctuary by Alan Bull

Lead photo Patch file photo courtesy Andrew Miller.