History of the Church of the Good Shepherd

In 1853, St. John’s Church, Essex, became the primary area church from which missionary activity emanated, resulting in parishes in Keeseville, Ausable Forks, Boquet, Willsboro and the Church of the Good Shepherd, Elizabethtown. In the spring of 1878, Rev.Eugene I. Toy was appointed missionary-in-charge of St. John’s and the mission stations in Lewis and Elizabethtown.

By 1880 the summer population of Elizabethtown was growing with an influx of well-to-do tourists who wanted a place to worship during their stay. As in many of the small towns in the area, these families got together with local parishioners to build and furnish a church.

The first regular services were begun by Rev. Eugene I. Toy in the summer of 1880 at the invitation of Mrs. Ogden H. Hoffman who was spending the summer with her daughters and several friends at the Pine Grove Cottage on Water Street.

Virginia Elizabeth Hoffman, widow of Ogden Hoffman, had written to Rev. Toy asking for an occasional service. He arranged for the same and secured the use of the Congregational House of Worship in Elizabethtown. He began holding services on July 18, 1880, at 5pm, traveling from his parish at Essex, every Sunday for that purpose, and continued his labor far into the winter season. It was during that summer that the idea of a church was suggested by Mrs. Hoffman.

BUILDING THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD:
Mrs. Hoffman, her daughters and friend, Ellen Laight, purchased a lot on Hand Avenue (across from the current Denton Publications building) for the site of the church. Mrs. Hoffman secured plans for a church building from architect, J.W. Pierson, of New York City. In 1881, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd was under construction and in early summer 1882, the building was completed, furnished and paid for through the devoted and constant efforts of Mrs. Hoffman, her daughters and their friends. On Sunday, July 2, 1882, the first public service was held in the new church by Rev. Toy and on Saturday, July 8th, the building was consecrated as the Church of the Good Shepherd by Bishop William C. Doane.

In 1899, there is a record of the church having been moved in the springtime from it’s original location on Hand Avenue to its present location on Williams Street. This was possible due to the gift of two lots on Williams Street, conveyed by Lewis H. Hyde and Leila M. Hyde which allowed for the construction of an adjoining parish hall and parsonage.