FAITH · HISTORICAL MARKER
Transit Road Church
Pendleton, New York
· C. 1854
Faith
Transit Road Church, originally Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, was constructed about 1854, when the first baptism and marriage were recorded. It stood on Transit Road near Muegel Road, north of the Transit Valley Country Club, until the 1960s, when the congregation built a new church south of that site, while the cemetery remained at the original location. This typical country church served German-speaking Lutheran residents of East Amherst, Clarence, and Swormville, and services were conducted in German until the early 20th century. The words over the doorway are the German translation of "Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church." Women of the church held fundraisers for several years to pay for the stained glass windows. All of the stained glass windows except the altar window are original 19th century windows made by the Frohe Art Glass Company of Buffalo. More than 100 years later, that family-owned firm also created the present altar window as a modern adaptation of the original, which the congregation removed for use in its new building. The altar window design, "Christ Knocking - The Light of the World," was based on a painting by the English artist William Holman Hunt. The cost of duplicating the original window was prohibitive, and a photo of it is displayed next to the altar. Only four front pews are original to the building, and the remaining original pews were not acquired. Woodworking details are typical of German churches of this period. The altar railing was replaced in 1996 after earlier photographs and marks on the floor showed the details and placement of the original railing. The 1870s pump organ was made by the Ann Arbor Organ Co. of Ann Arbor, Michigan. A replacement steeple bell could be heard for miles and was rung before services and to alert the surrounding community to emergencies, and a gold crown stands at the top of the steeple.
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