Our ORgan

In the original 1846 church building, Saint Paul's Church placed an organ built by noted New York CIty organ builder Henry Erben. An early photo of the church shows the organ, opposite the confessional. 

The church purchased a new, larger organ from the Steer & Turner company in Westfield, Massachusetts. Initially, it was in its own freestanding case. In the photo, you can see the space where the Erben organ had been. The Erben organ, meanwhile, was either sold or given to Saint Peter's Catholic Church (essentially across the street). The historic photos were scanned from the church's photos back in 1976 by Jane and Bill Snyder. (Jane was organist at Saint Peter's at the time.) Sometime between 1884 and 1888, the organ was sold to Saint Patrick's Church in Lagro, Indiana for $700. It remains there to this day, and was restored to playable condition by Halbert Gober, longtime curator of organs at Oberlin Conservatory. Here is the Organ Historical Society page on the organ as it stands in Saint Patrick's. Saint Patrick’s is now an "oratory," no longer functioning as a regular parish. It is affiliated with Saint Bernard's Catholic Church in nearby Wabash.  https://pipeorgandatabase.org/organ/4718

When the present (1897) church was built. The organ was moved into the chamber South of the chancel, where it remains today. [I have not found any record of who carried out that move.] The key action of the organ is mechanical, involving wood rods or "trackers" connecting the keys to the wind chests. (See photos) (The Erben organ is also a tracker action.) The organ was still at its original size (14 stops). there was simply grille cloth covering an opening into the transept at that time. (see photo)

The organ was showing its age over time, naturally, and was in need of restoration. In 1978, organ builder Ronald Wahl, of Appleton, Wisconsin was hired to undertake major work on the organ. Wahl made a point of restoring the instrument, keeping the original pipes and character of the organ, while cleverly making a few additions.(The picture "view from behind music rack" shows the tracker key action.) The project included adding three stops to the Pedal division (originally, there was only one), on a new wind/action chest. That new chest is situated right behind the transept altar. The pipes that make up the façade are the Violoncello stop in the Pedal. 

We have also recorded two in depth organ tours: an introduction & inside tour (above) and a stops demonstration (below).