History of St. James Church Building

Picture of the Original Church Building

On June 9, 1862 a meeting of some of the citizens of Titusville, Pennsylvania was held with a view of forming a church organization. A vestry was formed which consisted of two wardens and seven vestrymen. The wardens chosen were: George Mowbray and Colonel Edwin L. Drake. The vestry members were: Fred Ames, W.H. Abbott, John Moore, John Alden, F.H. Baker, W.H. Andrews, and C.L. Wheeler. Arrangements were also made to secure the public hall of Crittendons, as being the most convenient place for holding divine worship services until a suitable building could be built.

The Vestry solicited subscriptions and urged that the Bishop Bowman Fund be used to build a church in Titusville. The Bowman fund was a fund established by the Senior Bishop of the Diocese, the Right Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D. to build a church somewhere adjacent to the beautiful Allegheny, and this fund should be known as "The Bishop Bowman Memorial Church." Bishop Bowman was very fond of the Northwestern Region of Pennsylvania, and passed away while on a journey to the region. A subscription was raised which amounted to upwards of $8,000.00 and a competent salary was guaranteed for the support of a resident rector. At a meeting of the Vestry held November 29, 1862, The Rev. Henry Purdon was sent to visit Philadelphia and represent to the Bishop the claims which Titusville presented. This visit resulted in the selection of Titusville as the place where the Memorial Church should be built to the memory of the late Bishop Bowman. Both Warren and Franklin were anxious to obtain the Memorial Fund, but at the time were unable to add to it a domestic endowment such as Titusville was prepared to guarantee.

A suitable group of four lots, valued at $300.00 each, were purchased from Mr. Jonathan Watson. Mr. Watson donated $1000.00 of the purchase price which resulted in the church only paying $200.00 for the land. Mr. Emlen Littell was instructed by the Vestry to prepare designs for the proposed church building. He produced two beautiful sets of plans for approval by the Vestry and the Bishop. The first was selected as being the most elegant. All of the drawings and specifications pertaining to the building were given to the church by Mr. Littell as his liberal and noble contribution to the church.

On March 7, 1863, the Rev. Henry Purdon, having previously received a call from the Vestry, entered upon his work as Rector of St. James. He resigned his position as Missionary to the Oil Regions. The name St. James was given to the church because it was the name of the church in Lancaster, where Bishop Bowman was rector. A charter was obtained from the courthouse in Meadville in the month of May, 1863, incorporating the church.

The ground which was chosen to build St. James, is now located at the geographical center of Titusville, showing how wisely those early churchmen made their choice. The trenches were laid out and excavated in the month of August in 1863. On the 14th of September, the cornerstone was laid by the Rt. Rev. William B. Stevens, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese. Placed within the cornerstone were the following articles:

• Names of the Rector, Wardens and Vestry
• A photo of Bishop Bowman
• A photo of Henry Purdon
• A vial of crude oil from Drake's Well
• A vial of refined oil from G.M. Mowbray's refinery
• US Silver currency
• US Postage currency
• A copy of the Petroleum Reporter (now the Titusville Herald Newspaper)
• Oil City Register
• Crawford Journal
• Episcopal Recorder
• Church Journal

The church was first opened for services on May 1, 1864. Though the cost of the building exceeded expectations, amounting to about $11,000.00, the generosity of E. Brewer, Esquire, of Pittsburgh, formerly of Titusville, and Jonathan Watson of Titusville, and that of a few others, helped to free the church of any debt. The church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, Bishop of the Diocese on October 21, 1864.

Picture of the Church Building in 1912