Erasmus Hall High School - Arch Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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I was thrown back into reality when I felt the pressure of a hand on my shoulder. I turned to find a man-white haired but erect-a kind smile on his face-a mischievous spark in his blue eyes. He introduced himself as Mr. Hodgett, sexton of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. He seemed to sense our interest in the place, and began to tell us about its history. WThe first church built on this site was nothing more than a small frame building. It was ordered constructed in 1654 by Gov. Stuyvesant and it is from this date that our written records begin. This was the first church in the area that is now Brooklyn, and is the oldest church site in Greater New York. The original building was replaced by one of stone which stood for ninty-five years-all during the Revolution. After the battle in what is now Prospect Park, many dead soldiers were buried close to the church. ln 1796 a new building was completed over the bodies of those dead soldiers. For that reason our church has no cellar. L'The bell of our church was a gift of Capt. John Vanderbilt, a member of the congregation. It was cast in Holland and sent here in a Dutch ship. At that time England and Holland were at war, and the ship was captured by the British and the bell carried to Halifax. GGWllCH Capt. Vanderbilt and the other members heard of this, they organized a party, went to Canada and were able to retrieve the bell. They brought it back here and fastened it in its present site in the belfry. Those bolts and screws that hold it now were those placed there by Vanderbilt and his group one hundred and fifty years ago. G'When Pres. Washington died the bell tolled sixty-seven times- once for each year of the President's ag'e. Ever since, the bell has been rung at the exact time of the funeral of every President of the United States. MAH the early Vanderbilts, including Capt. John, as well as other distinguished Dutch families lie in this cemeteryf' We then followed Mr. Hodgett down into the Community Center of the church. We saw rooms for movies, a gym and an auditorium. In the movie room there was a small framed document. Upon closer obser-

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1 . . ,, .vp '4 19, E p Egan.. :Nix Q' 7 fiiiw Ni X L.. .1 - N V 2: sa.-isa... XX S X i ' it ,. X X ' 'Q' C' . :W THE CHURCH ON THE CORNER It was warmg very warm as my friend and l walked out of Garfieldhs. The usual lunchtime crowd was not visible. A few women pushed their carriages listlessly-complaining loudly about the weather. We decided to spend the remainder of our lunch period in the cemetery across the street, in hope of finding comfort from the heat. lt was so calm-so very peaceful in the cemetery that it seemed incredible we were in the midst of a shopping district with theaters. cabs and trolleys outside. While men and women were resting here, a city had built itself around the spot. ,lust across the street the Kenmore proclaimed its latest hit. I wondered what these people, buried here all these years would think of everything that went on around them. Perhaps they did have a way of knowing-perhaps . . .

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vation we noticed that it gave the tuitions for the various courses taught in the old Erasmus Hall Academy. It was dated June 12, 1800. Entrance .4,.,..4..,.s...,...,..,,...,..s,..,...........,,....,.....,........ 32.50 Reading and Writing .,..... .... 2 .00 Arithmetic .,.,.........,.i...., ... .... 2.50 English and Composition ...,. .... 3 .50 Languages 4..,,....,.,.....,....,4. .... 5 .00 English to foreigners ..,.............4...,..,,,4.........,.,.,,...4.. 5.00 Mr. Hodgett then led us into the church building. From the vault he took one of a group of huge volumes MThis book contains part of the original records of the church written in Dutch. See how yellow and faded the letters of this page are. Notice the date-1679. We have had the records translated into English and have placed the names of all those married, christened or buried here in separate booklets. uln our church all our services were preached in Dutch until 1822. Old Rev. Schoonmaker was the last minister to preach in Dutch. Wfhese two chairs here by the altar belonged to Dr. Schoonmaker and are probably more than one-hundred and fifty years old. uln the beginning our church had no organ. However, one of our members, John Prince furnished musical accompaniment with his flute. A short while ago his great-grandson presented the church with the original flute, and we have placed it in a showcase at the side of the pews. MLater we bought a small hand organ which was played from the balcony. This section was called the Slave's Gallery because up until 1863 it was reserved for Negroesf' Mr. Hodgett was suddenly interrupted by the church bells and we realized that it was two o'clock and we were late for classes. We hastily thanked our host and hurried across Cow Lane, for truly this no longer was Flatbush Avenue. We heard no honking of taxis or rumble of trolleys as we crossed the quiet country road and made our way towards Erasmus Hall Academy.