Those who built the Katsbaan Reformed Church carved their initials in stone, scrawled letters that are preserved on the north wall of the picturesque church they constructed in 1732 in the hamlet of Katsbaan, north of the village of Saugerties. They were German Palatines and Dutch who sought to create a spiritual home they built literally upon a rock, where it could be seen from the surrounding countryside. The fieldstone church is a gift of craftsmanship and arduous labor handed down generation to generation through nearly 300 years. It’s one that subsequent congregation members have cherished right up through the present, when a small congregation honors the gift through its commitment to tend, repair, and restore what it has inherited.
This is no easy task. The surviving beauty, workmanship, and spiritual presence in 2024 of the Katsbaan Reformed Church proves that what each person does matters and — if the commitment remains steadfast — lasts. “We tell everyone that we are a small yet mighty congregation,” Pastor Deborah Zuill said.
This coming weekend, Katsbaan Reformed Church, at 1801 Old Kings Highway in Saugerties, will join churches, synagogues, temples, and other spiritual sites from across New York State for the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s 14th annual Sacred Sites Open House. The theme of the conservancy’s open house this year, spanning the weekend of May 18-19, is “Welcoming Our Neighbors.” Participating congregations will showcase their landmarks and histories through guided tours, lectures, and musical performances.
On Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors to Katsbaan Reformed Church can see the church’s stately, stunning historic interior; learn about the congregation’s history that dates to its establishment in 1710 and construction of the church in 1732; and take self-guided tours using the church’s materials. They can also learn from Pastor Zuill about how the church completely restored its early 19th century pipe organ, an extremely rare organ of its type, and its steeple. In addition, visitors can find out about an upcoming initiative to repair and restore the church’s delicate Gothic Revival arched windows, which the congregation installed during a major rebuilding of the edifice in 1867. Among the artifacts that are on view are Bibles, collection plates, and photographs.
The congregation members need look no further than the roots of their own church for how a spiritual site signifies resilience and a belief in the future. German Palatines established the church in 1710 after emigrating to this part of the American colonies. Continuous warfare in the 17th and early 18 centuries had ravaged their Rhine Valley River region, known as the “Palatinate.” By the early 18th century, thousands of Germans had fled their homeland, and the immigrants who came to the West Camp hamlet, on the west side of the Hudson River, were among them. Twenty-two years after the establishment of the congregation, German Palatines and Dutch settlers who came to the Katsbaan area from Kingston constructed the church in 1732, making real and visible their commitment to the Hudson Valley hamlet.
The changes in churches and other spiritual places reflect the transformation in values and societal tastes from generation to generation. Following their original building, Katsbaan Reformed Church parishioners significantly rebuilt their spiritual home on two occasions — 1816 and 1867. Those who tour the church can get a sense of its original simplicity, a subsequent change that completely altered the structure’s orientation to the road, and the features and adornments the congregation added over time.
Pictures and artwork on display show the building’s various versions. The original church was more like a meetinghouse, with its door on the east wall facing the road, and it likely resembled a story-and-a-half, gable-roofed stone house, according to William Rhoads in Ulster County, New York: The Architectural History & Guide. It had no steeple. In cold temperatures, churchgoers did not have the comforts of a fireplace but instead brought heated large stones from home in order to keep warm.
In 1816, a growing congregation significantly modified the church, raising the walls to a two-story structure and creating galleries on the east and west side to expand seating. They inserted two doors on the south side and placed a bell tower topped by a steeple above this side.
The most significant rebuilding came just after the Civil War, in 1867, and it is this iteration that remains today. The congregation opted for the more formal, decorative Gothic Revival style as it vastly enlarged the church, by 17 feet on the southern section. The renovation moved the entrance from the east to the south wall, a fine-looking Gothic Revival arched door, flanked by two tall, similarly arched windows. A Greek Revival gable these three elements, providing a kind of classical symmetry. A white stone over the doorway is carved with the building’s dates of 1732, 1816, and 1867, providing evidence that the Katsbaan church valued its history and the contributions of their predecessors, as Rhoads noted in his guide.
Perhaps the most striking evidence of its beginning is the initials of the original builders and the year 1732, carved into several brown stones on the north wall. These stones were first located on the east wall but moved later.
Yet, as today’s congregation knows full well, a spiritual home does not sit frozen in time. It requires care from each succeeding generation, and the 21st century congregation has more than stepped up. As we walk around the interior, the Rev. Zuill — Pastor Deb to the flock — pointed out the massive 19th century organ in the loft. John Ogasapian, the late distinguished organ history expert, musicologist, and organist, believed this organ to be the oldest existing three-manual (three-keyboard) organ in North America.
The painstaking effort required taking the organ down to its frame, repairing the casework, repairing and placing the pipes, and much more, all with an idea to maintaining what Ogasapian termed its superb tone and its gentle 19th century English sound. Richard Hamar, who has been engaged in organ building since the 1960s, restored the organ in 2012, teaming up with retired organ restorer and organist Dana Hull, organ historian and author Barbara Owen, and volunteer Gene Trevail. The cost was $10,000. Following the organ restoration, the church completed a fundraising campaign, repairs, and restoration in 2018-2019 of the steeple, which dates to 1892 and had become structurally unsound.
It is in the context of the newest repair and restoration initiative that Zuill talks of a “small yet mighty congregation” — upcoming repairs and restoration of the church windows. For this project, Katsbaan Reformed Church applied for and received approval for matching funding from the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s grant program. The cost is $45,000. Through its “Windows To The Soul” campaign, the church raised $23,000 and the conservancy will provide a $22,000 grant.
Katsbaan Reformed Church has leveraged the reach of large organizations and community businesses with committed congregation members as it aims to restore and maintain its church for many years to come. “The majority of our congregation is made up of women. We’ve got girl power,” Zuill said with a smile, adding that church-going husbands figure in this mix as well.
For Zuill, being Pastor Deb is a relatively new role when compared with another that many have seen her in over the years: portraying abolitionist, suffragist, and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth for some 25 years. Zuill became the pastor of Katsbaan Reformed Church in November, 2020, succeeding the Rev. Jim Macarille, who accepted the call at First Congregational Church in Saugerties. Zuill is the 25th pastor of Katsbaan Reformed Church, and as she pointed out, the first female and first African American person leading the congregation.
As the church looks forward to welcoming the public for the Sacred Sites Open House, Zuill cites the consistent outreach that a spiritual community does. She has noticed the children and grandchildren of folks coming back for services at times. Church members also welcomed a large group of German Palatine descendants from Pennsylvania to share a service and lunch, as they traveled in New York State.
Those who visit and tour Katsbaan Reformed Church on the Saturday of New York State’s Sacred Sites weekend will see a church with a storied three-century history whose members are intensely mindful of maintaining this spiritual home for generations to come.
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