OUR STORY

In the Town of Bovina where the Andes-Delhi Road (Rt. 28) crosses the Little Delaware River, Saint James Church stands on one side of the bridge, and a cluster of houses known locally as “The Hook” stands on the other. According to one tradition the area is called “The Hook” due to the sharp curves of the old highway as it approached the bridge over the river. Another tradition claims “The Hook” received its name from the short drink the coachmen had at the tavern while their horses were being changed.

Tradition holds that the present Saint James Church stands at the entrance of the Gerry family’s Lake Delaware Farm because of some tardy children. One summer morning, after a late start, the Gerry family was hurrying to get to Saint John’s Church in Delhi in time for Sunday School. Commodore Gerry was exasperated at the delay and as the family reached the foot of Lake Delaware Road, pointing to where Saint James would one day stand, he said, “I wish there were a Church here, then perhaps you children would get to Sunday School on time.”

Years later, during the summer of 1913, Miss Mabel Gerry began a series of missionary meetings in “The Hook,” held in the homes of Earl and Amy Fisk and Roscoe Brown. During the summer, Miss Mabel became a familiar figure in “The Hook” and the surrounding countryside as she went about with her large notebook giving instructions and laying plans for the establishment of a mission congregation.

In the spring of 1914, a small house in “The Hook” was leased and prepared for use as a house of worship. Partitions were removed, a stove was installed for heating, and an Altar made of hard yellow pine helped convert the house into a chapel. The first service was held in the chapel on Palm Sunday, April 5, 1914, by the Rev. William A. Long who had been engaged to serve as a priest for the mission congregation. The second Bishop of Albany, the Rt. Rev. Richard Nelson, was present for the first Confirmation Service on Sunday, November 3, 1914.

In the early 1920s, Miss Angelica Gerry, sister of Miss Mabel, secured the services of the eminent and prolific American church architect, Ralph Adams Cram of Boston, to design the group of buildings of the present Saint James Church. Work was begun in spring of 1922. On Saint James’ Day, July 25th, 1922, the Bishop Coadjutor-elect, George Ashton Oldham, laid the corner stone. The Parish Hall and the Rectory were designed and built in 1924, completing our campus.

The first services were held in the new Chapel building by the Rev. Octavius Edgelow during October 1923. The Bishop of Albany, the Rt. Rev. Richard Nelson and his Coadjutor, the Rt. Rev. George Oldham were present on Saint James Day, 1924, for the Consecration of the Chapel.

The founders of Saint James Church continued missionary activity in the surrounding Delaware County communities of Andes, Bovina, Delhi, and beyond. Angelica Gerry sent many young men and women to college, paid for medical help for local families, paid for women to obtain midwifery education, and salaried a full-time parish nurse to help with community medical needs. Lake Delaware money also helped found Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Bloomville, Saint Mary's Episcopal Church in Downsville, All Saints Episcopal Church in Shinhopple, and Saint Margaret's Episcopal Church in Margaretville.

Until her death in 1930 Mabel Gerry Drury was, through her personal work and teaching, conscientious in her work for Saint James Church.

From the time of the construction of Saint James Church as a memorial to her mother and grandfather until her own death in 1960, Miss Angelica Gerry took an active part in the life of Saint James’ congregation. She was known throughout the countryside for her many acts of charity.