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Downtown Church, Then And Now, Discussed By Museum

The Fenton History Museum began its annual downtown walking tours in Jamestown. On Saturday, participants took part in “Downtown Churches: Then and Now.” P-J photo by Meghan Siperek

Community members gathered bright and early Saturday morning at the Fenton History Museum as the season of outdoor walking tours commenced.

Joni Blackman, director of the Fenton Museum and the tour guide for the morning, briefed the participants on a small visual layout and background before the walk began. Saturday’s tour focused on the history of local churches, the people and the buildings themselves in downtown Jamestown. Tours last anywhere from two hours to two-and–half hours, depending on the group size.

“The residents in Jamestown have had a faith, they just didn’t have a building,” Blackman said of the city prior to the construction of any churches.

At the beginning of the tour, Blackman explained the importance of each of the men that attributed to the settlement, construction and overall growth in Jamestown. Names such as James Prendergast, John Spencer and Elial Todd Foote were all, for the most part, just strangers names that lived long before in town.

However, as the tour proceeded through town, participants learned of the town drama; the reasons for locations of certain area monuments and churches; where and why most of the businesses were closer to the river; and how all the churches in town came into their own. Reasons for the different congregations ranged from race, wealth and languages.

As the tour proceeded up and around the hills of Jamestown, community members learned of different and odd rules some of the churches had. Some involved music, which later rose to such a problem that one church divided itself into two groups. Other beliefs resided around antislavery and pro temperance movement. The churches weren’t against alcohol, however, they were against the negative effects and behaviors that pursued after consuming too much.

Blackman talked about the marriages between different families for deals, some more in favor for the church’s sake than that of the families themselves. She also spoke about the different ethnicity, such as Polish, Swedish, Irish, Hispanic and African American, that played large roles in church attendance, location and language, in which each sermon was given.

As the tour came to a close, many of the stories between members of the growing town came together as one. Each story influenced another’s life and especially their church.

Anyone interested in taking part in a tour with the Fenton History Museum is asked to go to their website at FentonHistoryCenter.org or call 664-6256. Tours cost $10 for non-members, $5 for members of the museum, children 18 and under are free (up to two children per one adult). The same tour will be run every Saturday, excluding the weekends of the Gus Macker and the Lucille Ball festival.

The Fenton also provide five other tours available to the public. They are the Hidden Valleys, held only on July 29; The Southside of Jamestown; the History of Downtown and Northside of Jamestown; and The Lakeview Loop.

Also available to the public is the Research Center next door to the Fenton History Center for genealogy, town research or family heritage research where a volunteer is available for assistance. The Fenton History Center asks that interested participants call first on Saturdays before arriving at the Research Center. Membership information is also available online or at the museum itself.

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