Woodside
Presbyterian Church
Tour Photos - May
2010 - by Donna Vaughn
Woodside
Presbyterian Church was built for Henry Burden, owner of the
Burden Iron Works, on land owned by Erastus Corning, of Corning's
Albany Iron Works, as part of an apparent reconciliation between
these two often-feuding 19th century industrial giants.
The church complex is located in South Troy, New York and
comprises two buildings: the original Church built in 1869,
and a Chapel built in 1883. The site is adjacent to Wynantskill
Creek and the Burden Water Wheel.
The stone church building was designed by architect Henry
Dudley and erected in 1869 as a memorial to the wife of Henry
Burden, who died in 1860. In her life, she was concerned for
the iron workers and their families, who had to walk miles
in inclement weather to churches in downtown Troy and wished
for a church closer to the Iron Works.
An inscription on the church wall reads, "Woodside Memorial
Church, dedicated to the service of the Triune God, has been
erected to the memory of Helen Burden by her husband, Henry
Burden, in accordance with her long-cherished and earnest
desire, 1869."
The later-built stone chapel was almost certainly designed
by Robert Robertson, one of the Burden family’s favorite
architects, and was likely used by the Sunday school. The
chapel was built by the children of Henry Burden, Margaret
Burden Proudfit, James A Burden, and I. Townsend Burden, after
his death in 1871. It was built in memory of the many children
lost to the three of them.
An inscription on the wall of the chapel building reads,
"Woodside Chapel. Erected A. D. 1883, by Margaret E.
Proudfit, James A. Burden, and I. Townsend Burden, in memory
of their children."
The church ceased to be used by the Presbytery in 2003. In
a process aided by the Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, the
church was reclaimed by the Burden and Corning Heirs in 2005
due to a reverter clause in the original deed. Soon after,
the Burden heirs bought the Corning's share.
The church was purchased in 2007 by the Contemporary Artists
Center, a non-profit arts organization.
Click on the thunbnail
photo below to see the larger image.