I can never pass through the village of Naples, NY without stopping at Bob & Ruth’s Vineyard Restaurant (click here). It’s the kind of place where the locals come in the morning for their coffee or to just chat about what’s on their agenda for the day. Later in the morning, lunches are served as well as dinners in the evening – all in a very relaxed and homey kind of way.
After I had my cinnamon bun and a cup of coffee, I wandered around the park which sits nearby. The cemetery has always intrigued me as I have stopped at Bob & Ruth’s many times but not spent any time to walk around the park or to look at the cemetery. There is a NY State Historical Marker next to the cemetery which reads, “First Church on this Site Was Organized the “First Religious Compact of Middletown 1800”. The church was not built until 1824.
The church is not longer standing, but the cemetery still remains. I did a little research on the history (click here) as transcribed by Deborah Spencer, and found that the missionary, Rev. Samuel Fuller, organized a church on February 1, 1800. These early services were held in a log barn. The church was of the “Congregational” order. Later, a church building was built by subscriptions made in cash, grain, stock, lumber, and labor to the amount of $3500. Lumber, $5 per thousand feet; common boards, $8.00; house lumber $10, and $1 per thousand for warranted shingles; $1.25 a day for a team, 50 cents a day for common labor. Good cows were taken on subscription at from $10-$14 each, beef at four cents, and butter at eight cents per pound. And thus the church was built in 1824.
Our little Chapin Methodist Church needs some fresh paint and a new steeple. I like the idea of building by subscription. But where would we keep the cows?
