Wellington
First Congregational Church

From Elyria, we travel south only a short distance to Wellington—a picturesque Main Street village with a hidden treasure of pristine architecturally-significant commercial buildings, civic structures, and residences in Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Folk Victorian, Shingle Style, and Colonial Revival styles. The current First Congregational Church, designed by Cleveland architect Sidney R. Badgley in Gothic Revival style and erected in 1896, is built on the foundations of the previous 1879 building destroyed by fire. Historians will note that this is the third building we are seeing by Badgley, a Canadian native who moved to the northeastern Ohio region, establishing himself primarily as a church architect but also designing several prominent residences and such famous landmarks as Massey Concert Hall in downtown Toronto. For the new church building, a two-manual 1896 J.W. Steere & Sons organ (Opus 417) was installed. Well maintained since its installation, the instrument’s survival is remarkable considering that almost all of the 19th-century pipe organs in Oberlin and the immediate area have been replaced. This church is also important to the OHS, as this is where OHS founding member and vice-president of Organ Supply Industries Randall Wagner grew up and became interested in the pipe organ. We are not only honored and privileged to pay homage to Randy, but also to hear Grant Edwards demonstrate the Steere organ.