Sandusky
First Congregational Church

On Tuesday afternoon we head west toward Sandusky. Sandusky is a Great-Lakes port community established midway between Cleveland and Toledo. Once a center of commerce and industrial trade—and a crucial stop on the Underground Railroad—the city is largely known today for its beaches, summer resorts, and amusement park, Cedar Point. The downtown core is well preserved and retains its American-Main-Street character.

Situated just south of the old commercial district among many grand stone residences and houses of worship, is the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, designed by architect Sidney R. Badgley. Like many of the neighborhood buildings, the church was constructed of Sandusky blue limestone. The Akron-plan interior features a stained-glass dome, well crafted woodwork, and an almost seamlessly integrated two-manual 1875 Johnson & Son organ (Opus 462). Originally built for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette, Michigan, the organ was later moved, circa 1908, to St. Ignatius Church in Houghton, Michigan, and in 1976 to the home of James Kvale in Long Prairie, Minnesota. Organbuilder J.C. Taylor of Appleton, Wisconsin, installed the organ in Sandusky following refurbishment in 1982. Christopher Marks will demonstrate this fine-toned organ for our convention.