Unknown - Nave, Gallery, and Organ Case (Photograph in Church Archives (ca. 1866); image courtesy of Timothy E. Conyers/Database Manager)
Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
2005-02-16 - Identified from company publications as edited and expanded in <i>The Hook Opus List 1829-1935</i>, ed. William T. Van Pelt (Organ Historical Society, 1991). -Database Manager
2007-07-15 - According to the article in the <i>2007 Organ Atlas</i>, it is possible that this is the organ that was moved to the Whitefield United Methodist Church, West Brookfield, Massachusetts. That organ might be, however, Opus 223. -Database Manager
2012-10-17 - Updated through online information from Timothy E. Conyers. -- From an old photgraph: The instrument was located in a gallery at the rear of the nave and over the main door. It was in a case with a pipe facade.<br><br>This instrument was given to another church in Richmond,(St. Mary's Catholic ???) Its whereabouts after that time are unknown. -Database Manager
2014-07-29 - Updated through online information from Timothy E. Conyers. -- In February 1858, a new pipe organ was purchased from E. & G. G. Hook of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. C. H. Strickland, who had recently arrived in Richmond from Boston, had a personal acquaintance with the E. & G. G. Hook firm. He went to them inquiring about the possibility of purchasing an organ for St. Paul's. The company informed him of an instrument that had been built for a church in Minneapolis. Due to the great distance between Boston and Minneapolis, poor communication and the security from the church not being very satisfactory; the Hook firm proposed to sell and ship the instrument to Richmond on the personal security of Mr. Strickland. The organ was purchased at a cost of $ 1,500.00. (or $1,300.00 in another record). In 1866, the church was remodeled and the chancel enlarged to its current form. Work included "removing the unsightly gallery and placing the organ in the tower." The old gallery extended halfway up the nave, placing half the main floor under the gallery. The new smaller gallery only projected a few feet into the nave from the tower. There is no record of the original placement of the organ before this remodeling.<br>The instrument was in a case with decorative scrollwork at the top of each corner. The facade pipes were displayed in three arched sections. The keydesk is not visible in photographs. However, there is a partly opened panel in the lower center of the case, which could be a keydesk covering. Also, a large object is discernible on the left side of the gallery.<br>A church history written in 1906, records, "For many years Joseph Marchant made all the repairs and kept the organ in tune free of charge. It proved to be one of the best organs ever used in Richmond. It was later sold to St. Mary's Catholic church, [Richmond, Indiana] where it is still used." This pipe organ served the congregation for 34 years before being replaced with an entirely new instrument.<br><br>(Sources: Church archives - Manuscript by H. B. Payne, written for the 50th anniversary of St. Paul's. Manuscript by Elizabeth Strickland, read at the 50th anniversary of St. Paul's in 1888. Letter to church by Mrs. Myrick written in 1888. Manuscript, "History of St. Paul's Episcopal Church" by Lulu M. Likens, June 1906.) <br>Note: In December 1988, while organist at St. Paul's, I met the St. Mary's organ tuner who informed me that a large portion, if not the entire Hook organ, still existed at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Richmond, Indiana). -Database Manager
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