History of the
Union University Church
The Union University Church was founded in September, 1922,
as a response to the need
of those village residents who were accustomed to observing Sunday
worship. Alfred University
had been established by Seventh Day Baptists and most of Alfred’s
earliest residents observed the
Sabbath but for many years, a Sunday morning service had been
held at the University’s chapel
primarily for those students and faculty who kept Sunday as their
day of worship. As the
attendance grew, there was increasing need for a more formal organization.
Responding to that
need, Dr. Booth C. Davis, President of Alfred University and Pastor
of the Sunday observing
residents, invited them to a discussion of the possibility of
organizing a Union Church which one
hundred and one persons joined as charter members. President
Davis continued to preach, and
the new congregation rented the sanctuary of the Alfred Seventh
Day Baptist Church for their
Sunday worship.
Sunday worship was about the extent of activity in this early
church. Many members
missed participation in activities and fellowship. Consequently,
in November, 1935, a group of
ladies met to discuss organizing a society. This idea was
met with enthusiasm, and the Women’s
Guild was formed. An objective of this new group was the
establishment of a Sunday School
which soon followed with classes held in the Parish House of the
Seventh Day Baptist Church.
By 1935, the University had appointed a full time Director of
Religious Activities who
also served as its Chaplain and Pastor of the Union Church.
This arrangement existed until 1950
when the church was reorganized, and a full-time Pastor was hired.
By that time, the village, as
well as the two educational institutions had grown. Moreover,
due to the increased obligations of
the University’s Director of Religious Activities, he had less
time to give to the Union Church.
As the church and its Sunday School grew, there was increasing
demand for a Church Center and
a parsonage. In 1953, the church was incorporated, and the
Bassett property at the corner of
Main and Church Streets was purchased and converted to a Church
Center. In 1962, the church
bought a village home as a parsonage. During that same year,
the congregation voted to erect an
addition to the Church Center since the structure no longer met
all the needs of the church and
Sunday School. This single-story addition included rest
rooms, kitchen, fellowship/dining hall,
and storage area/furnace room.
Since the completion of the addition during the spring of 1971,
the Church Center has
become a community center as well. A token or nominal fee
is charged for its use by church non-
related or non-sponsored groups. The Union University Church
has always regarded utilization
of the center as part of our mission to the community.
In 1999, when the congregation raised money to renovate
the original section of the
Church Center, many members of the community expressed their appreciation
for the church’s
ministry by donating to the renovation efforts. The project
was completed May 1, 2000.
Church Center
Once Station on the Underground Railroad
In Helene C. Phelan's book, And Why Not Every Man?: An Account
of Slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the Road to Freedom
in New York's Southern Tier, a paragraph on the Underground
Railroad in Alfred lists the Bassett house at 29 North Main Street
as one of the stops on the freedom trail. The Union University
Church acquired the Bassett House in 1954 and though the church
has renovated and built an addition to the house, the original
structure can still be seen clearly in the current offices and
classrooms of the Church Center.
According to Phelan's book, the station was run by the Bayless
Bassett family who moved to Allegany County in 1826. Mrs.
James Scholes confirmed the existence of the station, saying that
she was taken to the upstairs of the Bassett house by her grandfather
who showed her a concealed opening into the attic space under
the eaves on the north side of the house. He told her "when
guests were led to the spot they voiced special approval of those
holding quarters -- felt very protected and safe, 'No one
will find me here.'" (p. 119)
When the members of the Union University Church were preparing
to renovate the oldest part of the Church Center a few years ago,
several people poking around upstairs discovered an opening into
the north eaves and commented, "Look at all of this space back
here. There must be some way we can use it." Little
did we know that more than a hundred years earlier, the Bassetts
had found an excellent way to put that space to work for God's
kingdom.
Pastors of the Union University Church
