A History of the Old Steeple Community Church

The early history of the Old Steeple Community Church and the firm establishment of Congregationalism on Long Island are intimately intertwined.  Some historians have thought that the origin of the (Upper) Aquebogue Church is "veiled in great obscurity".  This is due to fires; for example, one at the home of the church clerk in the early 1800's.  Also the Revolutionary War on Long Island is known to have suppressed an independent church's development as the British often occupied homes and church buildings.  Furthermore, there was an intentional lack of record keeping by early "Separatist" pastors.  However, on March 26, 1758, a "Religious Society" at Upper Aquebogue was known to organize as the "First Strict Congregational Church of Southold".

The origins of this church actually began as a dramatic revival called the "First Great Awakening".  A number of pastors are believed to have planted the seeds of change to form a church separate from the (Lower) Aquebogue Meetinghouse (in Jamesport).  This movement, from 1740 to 1751, of "New Light" pastors and laypeople was a reaction to a decline in piety and morals.  In Connecticut, the separates (or "Strict Congregationalists") developed to shine forth this "New Light".  With the strengthening of the Presbytery on Long Island, in particular its association with the Lower Aquebogue Meetinghouse in 1750, this new movement influenced the "New Side" (as they were called by the Presbyterians) to develop and walk out of church one Sunday to form a more independent congregation.  But this was not the first church on Long Island to separate.  Three years earlier, a church at Bridgehampton is mentioned in Presbytery records to have had an almost identical incident of "New Light" supporters.  The pastors of this newly formed Bridgehampton Separatist Church and the Canterbury Separatist Church (thought to be the first "New Light" separates out of many in Connecticut) helped and supported a group of 16 people (mostly women members) to organize within the Southold community.  In hindsight, Congregationalism on Long Island greatly benefited from this revival.

The colonial history of many New England townships (including eastern Long Island) documents churches that were settled by Puritans (most later to be known as Presbyterians) and Independents (most later to be known as Congregationalists - including the Pilgrims - then known to be "Plymouth Separtists").  At one point, "the Presbyterian Colony at Salem and the Congregational Colony at Plymouth were in accord".  A sort of "Congregational Presbytery" was attempted in every local church, but it often did not work out.  The first church on Long Island, the Southold Church settled in 1640, was a good example of this sort of hybrid town and church government.  It remained an independent church until joining the Presbytery in 1832.

The Jamesport Meetinghouse was an offspring of this church built for convenience of those families that were settled in the Aquebogue Division (western Southold) in 1731.  When Rev. James Davenport of Southold became an itinerant evangelist and helped bring the 1740 religious revival on Long Island, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey, it resulted in a schism that eventually divided the Aquebogue community.  This resulted in the Upper Aquebogue Church to be part of the "Strict Congregational Convention of Connecticut" and the Lower Aquebogue Meetinghouse to be part of the "Suffolk Presbytery on Long Island" in the 1750's.  By the 1760's, the Cutchogue born Rev. Timothy Wells led the Upper Aquebogue Church in its infancy.  With the British invasion during the Revolutionary War, church records in the 1770's were non-existent, as many inhabitants, including Rev. Wells, took temporary refuge in Connecticut.  The remaining members worshipped in each other's homes.  Influenced by Rev. Wells, a Daniel Youngs took charge and soon replaced Rev. Wells after his death in 1782.

Rev. Daniel Youngs expanded the church's influence into the surrounding areas, particularly in Suffolk County, and beyond.  The Bridgehampton separatists' congregation seemed to be absorbed into the (Upper) Aquebogue Church.  Rev. Youngs preached regularly at Westhampton as well, and turned the dwindling Presbyterian Church at Wading River into a renewed Congregational Church.  Congregational Churches at Mount Sinai, Baiting Hollow and Patchogue were established around 1790, all influenced by the zeal and labors of the Aquebogue community.  With the possible exception of the Oysterponds (Orient) Church, which was constructed in 1728 as an offshoot of the first Southold Church, the Upper Aquebogue Church is the "Mother Church" of all Congregational Churches on Long Island.  An association of these churches called "The Strict Congregational Convention of Long Island" was formed here in 1790.  "Strict Congregational" believed to mean "strict adherence to the primitive order of the church and the principles of the original settlers of Plymouth" including "entire independence of the churches and their subjection to no ecclesiastical head, or body of men".

By 1797, the Aquebogue church had to expand its building and decided to relocate out of the expanding burial grounds and onto higher terrain across the road, where it presently exists.  The newer building was "to develop the true principles of Congregationalism in the erection of a free house".  In 1833, it was refurbished and the steeple was added.  It now served as a local landmark and was a guide to those boating across the Peconic Bay and up Meeting House Creek.  From that point on it was appropriately known as the "Steeple Church".  The present church building was constructed in 1862, to provide for further expansions, and because the earlier structure had trouble holding up the steeple.

An organ was added in 1880 to enhance the worship services.  Prior to this, a chorister directed the congregation (and/or choir that formed about 1850).  Around 1890 the community built a small chapel on the back of the building for the (Christian Endeavor Society) young people.  Soon after, other improvements to the present sanctuary were made (eg. fish scale shingling and front portico).  In approximately 1904, a basement kitchen and dining room were added under the smaller chapel.  During the 1938 hurricane, the steeple was destroyed, but another took its place the following year.  The back of the building was again expanded in 1950 with the old horse-sheds being removed.  In 1976, the present parsonage was built.  The last expansion was of the Cedric Luce Jr. Fellowship Hall in 1993 and office improvements were made in 1997.

This abbreviated history was compiled with the help of various sources as follows:

Suffolk County Historical Society Library and Archives
Notes on the Church's History by Lois Young
The Refugees of 1776 from Long Island to Connecticut
     (p. 148-151, 1076-1077)
A Dramatic Revival:  The First Great Awakening in Connecticut
     (by Sarah Valkenburgh)
Jamesport Church's History as compiled by Dr. Kirby (1933)
Suffolk Presbytery Minutes, Vol. I (1748)
History of the Long Island Convention (1839)
History of Congregational Church - Aquebogue, NY (1911)
      (by Rev. William Chalmers)

Compiled by Leigh M. Young (December 2005)