August B. Pomplitz (1868)

Unknown - Organ in sanctuary, 1870 (Photo from 1899 church history, in Clark County Historical Society archive, courtesy of J. A. Hefner (1870)/Database Manager)

Unknown - Church interior during demolition - remnant of organ loft/former organ location (Archival photo courtesy Clark County Historical Society, courtesy of J. A. Hefner (ca. 1928)/Database Manager)

Unknown - Church exterior (Postcard, courtesy of J. A. Hefner (ca 1900)/Database Manager)

Unknown - Archival photo from 1915 church yearbook compilation (Archival photo from 1915, courtesy of J. A. Hefner/Database Manager)

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2017-05-05 - This entry describes an original installation of a new pipe organ. Identified by J. A. Hefner, listing this web site as a source of information: http://www.springfieldcovenant.org/litesite.cfm?id=200 and http://www.baltimoreago.org/documents/Pomplitz-Organ-List.pdf. Although built in 1848, First Presbyterian did not have an organ until a cabinet organ was purchased in 1855, and it was transported many places for events. The Pomplitz pipe organ was installed in 1868, though the church was replaced in 1920 by Covenant Presbyterian, and the First Presbyterian building no longer stands. -Database Manager

2017-07-14 - Updated by J. A. Hefner, naming this as the source of information: "Year Book of the First Presbyterian Church" (1915). According to the 1915 church yearbook (containing handwritten notes up to 1921), Emma Timmerman [wife of George W.] was organist at the time; she also had to deal with failing Felgemaker opus 433 at High Str Methodist. The cost of maintaining the Pomplitz organ was $50 throughout 1914. -Database Manager

2017-07-14 - Updated by J. A. Hefner http://www.springfieldcovenant.org/page_to_print.cfm/about http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/local/springfield-then-now-first-presbyterian-church/qsehSlS0nL5A4WltBGNrCK/ In 1866-68, the congregation spent $30,000 on interior and exterior renovation, including an upstairs organ loft. According to the Springfield News-Sun, the 1920 merged congregation [Covenant Presbyterian, formed from First and Second Presbyterian] remained at the Fisher & Main church until Covenant's Limestone & North building was complete in 1927 [First Presbyterian's cornerstone was laid as Covenant's cornerstone on 3 June 1926]. Neither First nor Second Presbyterian's buildings exist today. -Database Manager

2017-07-15 - Updated by J. A. Hefner, listing this web site as a source of information: http://www.baltimoreago.org/documents/Pomplitz-Organ-List.pdf. The Pomplitz list states this organ had 2 manuals, 20 stops, and "walnut case in Byzantine style". -Database Manager

2019-04-07 - Updated by J. A. Hefner, naming this as the source of information: 1900 Springfield First Presbyterian Church history. According to the 1900 First Presbyterian history, the church purchased the organ in 1868, then received a new pipe organ in 1887, then by Sept 10, 1899, they refurnished the auditorium with new pews, enlarged the chancel platform, and lowered the organ. The book includes photographs of the chancel in 1870 and 1899, showing the organ in an alcove centered on the chancel, not really a \"loft\" as they said elsewhere. The facade looks ornate, with bass pipes to the side of three wide flats of pipes. The facade was retained even after new organ installation in 1887, but the console area looks different. First Presbyterian also organized a satellite congregation and Sunday School, Oakland Chapel, in 1881. The chapel received the hand-me-down carpets and furnishings of First Presbyterian in the 1880s and 1890s, so when Oakland received an organ in 1892, maybe it was built with remaining Pomplitz parts? Oakland later built a new church structure in 1918, selling the old structure [which was moved a few blocks down] to Broaddus Methodist congregation, where it still stands. -Database Manager

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