Wappingers Falls, New York

Bain Commercial Building, Wappingers Falls

That portion of the village lying north of the creek, in the town of Poughkeepsie, was originally known as "Ednam".[13] It later became known as Channingville (sometimes rendered "Chiningville"), which name is derived from the Channing family, who owned the farm on which it mostly lies.

The first merchant in this part of the village was a cooper, John Crilley, from Ireland by way of Glenham. In 1842 he built the first brick building erected on either side of the creek. By 1836, Ednam had about thirty dwellings and a cotton factory with 2,400 spindles and 90 looms, making 500,000 yards of cloth per annum.[14]

J.J. O'Riley's North American Hotel and Eagan's Opera House (built in 1876 by John Eagan, with a seating capacity for five hundred people) were located here. The village's first post office was established here in 1840.[15] The post office bore the name of the creek.[14]

The Bain Commercial Building is located at the corner of Church and West Main (NY 9D) streets. The Bain family is believed to have built the building in 1875, shortly after Channingville became part of the village. It was both their residence and their place of business. It is a late 19th-century brick building that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Henry Yates Satterlee

Zion Episcopal Church began in 1820 under the shade of an apple tree when Joanna Mesier, wife of Matthew Mesier, began a Sunday school.[16] There were only seven or eight families living in the area at the time. The class was subsequently moved to a corn barn near the Mesier homestead where the village flagpole now stands. The Mesiers attended Trinity Church in Fishkill, the nearest Episcopal church, but felt the need for a church less distant for the farmers of the area and their families. In 1833, the Reverend Doctor George B. Andrews moved to a farm, "Highmount", between Hughsonville and New Hamburg. On July 14 of that year he conducted the first official service of the Episcopal Church somewhere on the north side of Wappingers Creek. He continued to be driven up from his farm with his family and servants to spend Sundays near the falls. In December 1833, Matthew Mesier gave a small tract of land between the burial ground and the turnpike (now Main Street) in front of what was then Mr. Givens' place. One month later plans were made to construct a church. The stone for the church came from the property of Benjamin Clapp, much of which he hauled himself. Zion Protestant Episcopal Church was dedicated by Bishop Onderdonk on May 6, 1836. Mr. Andrews served as pastor, not only to the church in Wappingers, but often found time to row across the Hudson to conduct services in Marlboro.[17] The church's most notable pastor was Henry Yates Satterlee, assistant rector 1865-75 and senior rector 1875–83, who was elected the first bishop of the Washington Diocese in 1896 and there established the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, popularly known as Washington National Cathedral.

The Franklindale Baptist Church was organized in 1838. Benjamin Clapp, former warden of Zion Episcopal, converted to the Baptist faith and donated land on the corner of Prospect Street and South Avenue. The church building was dedicated on December 5, 1847.[10] In 1967 the Bethel Baptist community purchased Franklindale Baptist, which was dedicated as Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on October 15, 1967. In 1997 the need for additional space brought the purchase of the house across Prospect Street, which had belonged to Dr. Kerrigan. Referred to as "Bethel Annex", the 1830s building provided space for the church school and events.[18] In the mid-2000s, the Kerrigan House was sold and transported across South Avenue to be replaced by a new church building.

The Presbyterian Church at Wappingers Falls owed it existence to Mrs. John Fisher Sheafe, whose country seat was near New Hamburg. She asked the Rev. John D. Wells, who was then preaching at Ellessdie Chapel, situated two miles north of New Hamburg on the river road, to see if there was a need for a church in Wappingers. This resulted in the organization of the Presbyterian Society in 1848, and the same year a church edifice and parsonage were built by Mrs. Sheafe on Fulton Street. During the pastorate of Rev. O.A. Kingsbury (1879-1883) the Fulton Street property was sold and the present brick structure on South Avenue erected. The new church was dedicated July 23, 1872.[10] The church lasted for just over 150 years before it closed, holding its final service on January 13, 2023.[19]

United Methodist Church, designed by George E. Harney

The first Methodist Episcopal Church in the area of Wappingers Falls was started by noted circuit riding preacher Freeborn Garrettson in 1788. By 1824, services were held in the home of Joseph C. Smith at Middlebush, before moving to a schoolhouse. In 1827, the Methodist Society purchased the former Baptist meeting house, also at Middlebush. In 1841 it became part of the Johnsville circuit.[20] John Given donated land in the then village of Ednam, at the falls west of the Wappingers Creek. Ednamville was established as a mission church served by preachers who rode circuit to Middlebush and New Hamburg. In 1845, a church was built at the corner of West Main and Church Streets. In the spring of 1868, with the idea of merging the Wappingers Falls and Middlebush congregations, land was purchased from the estate of Margaret Reese. The old Middlebush church was taken down and the materials used to construct a barn on the new church property on Mesier Avenue.[15] The church was known as the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1939 when the name was changed to The Methodist Church. In 1968, it was changed to the United Methodist Church. In 1974, with the merger with the New Hamburg Methodist Church it became known as The United Methodist Church of Wappingers. In early 2020 the church merged with the Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church and the building was sold.

Roman Catholics of what is now Wappingers Falls were cared for by priests from St. Peter's Church in Poughkeepsie until 1845 when the parish was founded to serve southern Dutchess County. In 1850, the first pastor took up residence. Masses were offered in local homes until a church was constructed on Clinton Street. The current church building was consecrated in 1879, although the interior has been renovated a number of times, the last being in the early 2000's. The parish also has a cemetery which is still in operation and a school which closed in 2019.

Mount Alvernia Retreat Center sits on 204 acres overlooking the Hudson Valley and is run by the Franciscan Friars of the New York Province of the Immaculate Conception. It was built in 1950 and until 1967 served as a seminary to train Franciscan friars for the Roman Catholic priesthood. Its chapel offers daily Mass while the former seminary building hosts retreats and other events. On the property of the Retreat Center is the Monastery of St. Clare built in 2004 for the Poor Clares, Franciscan nuns who moved to Wappingers Falls from Throgs Neck in the Bronx.