Ascension

Church of the Ascension

West Park, New York

1585 Route 9W

West Park, NY 12493

(845) 384-6723

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The Beginnings of Ascension

In the early 1800's, worshipers in the town of Esopus on the west bank of the
Hudson River traveled by ferry to Hyde Park to attend services at St. James. After an
unfortunate ferry accident, in which one person drowned, The Rev. Dr. Reuben
Sherwood of St. James worked actively to establish a church in Esopus. The parish
was organized on April 4, 1842, and Dr. Sherwood laid the cornerstone for the church
on July 19.

Mrs. Anna Watts of the Stuyvesant-Rutherford family donated money for the
construction, and her son-in-law, Archibald Russel, commissioned New York architect
John Johnston to design the building. On November 12 the stone church, built in the
Gothic style, overlooking the Hudson River, was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Benjamin
T. Onderdonk, then Bishop of New York. The certificate bearing his seal and signature
hangs in sacristy today.

Mrs. Watts reportedly named the church Ascension, because she also attended the
well-known Church of the Ascension in New York City.

During the first several years, services were held in the church only in the summer
months because the majority of active members and supporters were summer
residents from New York City. One of the most prominent families to attend
Ascension was that of financier John Jacob Astor. In 1860 Mr. Astor donated money
for the construction of the rectory. The cemetery, one-quarter mile north of the
church, had also been established by this time. This cemetery, which is visible from the
present Route 9W, contains several headstones of interest from the 18th and 19th
centuries.

Soon after the Civil War, another well-known family joined the parish when General
Daniel Butterfield and his wife moved to West Park. The Butterfields donated several
acres to the parish and, in 1879, the General paid for the redecoration of the church's
interior in memory of his wife, Lizzie, who had died in 1877. The present wooden
pulpit, lectern, font, and altar are from this period. The baptismal font is engraved with
the name of their only child, Edgar, who died at the age of three.

The two stained glass windows, representing Faith and Hope, are original designs
from the Tiffany Studios in New York City, and were installed in 1916 in memory of
Sarah Carlton Brookman and Harriet Carlton Durkee. The remaining windows were
reportedly donated by General Butterfield.

The Parish Hall dates from 1929. Part of it, however, was constructed in the early
19th century as a carriage shed. Carriage hooks on the stone walls remain from this
earlier time.

When the parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1942, the interior of the church
was refurbished including a new floor, the reredos, and altar rail. The porch was added
and dedicated during the 125th anniversary celebration.

The needlework on the altar step and at the communion rails was donated by
Barbara Maynard in memory of her mother, Florence Lapine Elsworth, and was
dedicated on September 20, 1981. The altar step shows the chariot of fire that took
the prophet Elijah to heaven and represents the Old Testament type of Christ's
ascension. The rail cushions depict fruits and flowers mentioned in the Bible. The
needlepoint was the result of three year's work by Mrs. Maynard, The Rev. Paul Parker,
Muriel Cotant, and Brenda Allen. Mr. C. Penny Fulton helped with the installation.

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