ca. 1910 - Church exterior (Photograph from an archival source: Vintage postcard, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
2023-01-26 - This entry represents the installation of a new pipe organ. Identiied from a church document entitled,* 'Music Memories: 1855 - 1973'* - part of the dedication of another new pipe organ. *"The congregation grew and the present structure (on a lot given by the founder's son, Hugh P. Gilkeson) had been completed and a pipe organ installed when the dediction cermeony was held on January 12, 1890."* *'1890 - 1920 Not too many of the current members of First Christian Church know of the 1890 organ though some members remember it clearly. Ths manually-operated small pipe organ was used for thirty years. Those who provided the description of this "little organ" attest to its sweet tone and to the excellence of the music.'* -Jim Stettner
2023-05-22 - Information from the "Organ History" section of "The First Christian Church, Warrensburg, Missouri: Dedication Recital of the Quimby Organ," Sunday, September 23, 1973, Quimby Pipe Organs, accessed May 21, 2023, https://quimbypipeorgans.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Dedication-Recital-Brochure-9-23-73.pdf: 1890—A small pipe organ had been installed in the present church building when it was dedicated on January 12, 1890. The instrument was located in the same corner of the sanctuary as the present organ. An attractive screen stood on the southeastern side of the organ with enough room behind it for two chairs for the one or two who pumped the bellows. Early members recall that if the pumping was too vigorous, the little organ would fairly dance. The pumper apparently went to sleep during the sermon with some frequency so that the organist would sit red faced waiting to play the closing hymn until a choir member would wake him. Untitled note, *Warrensburg (MO) Standard*, Thursday morning, January 16, 1890, [8], Newspapers.com, accessed May 21, 2023, https://www.newspapers.com/image/694621984: "The new Christian church has a $1,500 pipe organ." "The Christian Church Concert," *Johnson County Star* (Warrensburg, MO), Saturday, February 8, 1890, [8], Newspapers.com, accessed May 21, 2023, https://www.newspapers.com/image/694570566: "The pipe organ, the first ever in Warrensburg, was manufactured by Messrs. Kilgan [*sic*] & Son of St. Louis." The article gave a detailed account of the concert (see under "Documents"). The next organ listed in the "Organ History" section of the 1973 dedication program is the 1920 Geo. Kilgen & Son instrument, OHS Database Organ ID 72618, which presumably replaced the 1890 organ. -Charles Eberline
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