Trinity Episcopal Church
520 11th Street
Huntington, WV  25701
304-529-6084
 
Regular Worship Times:
Sundays -
8:00 & 10:30 am
  
Balcony window 

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CHURCH HISTORY

It has been said that when America moved west the Episcopalians came along when they could get a Pullman reservation.
    This was almost literally true of Trinity Church in its early years. Although its roots go back to the organization of a new
 mission in Barboursville, W.Va., in 1869, Trinity's real growth coincided with the development of the city of Huntington
 in the 1870s as the western terminus of the expanding Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co.


Many of Trinity's early leaders found themselves in Huntington because of the railroad. It was in 1872 that the mission moved to Huntington
 from Barboursville and adopted its present name, holding services on the second floor of a building on the site now occupied by the Radisson Hotel.

The first clergy to take charge of Trinity was the Rev. E. Valentine Jones who was sent for that purpose by the Bishop of Virginia because
 Huntington was a part of his diocese until the establishment of the separate Diocese of West Virginia. The first priest assigned to Trinity after West Virginia
 became a separate diocese was the Rev. John W. Lea who was placed in charge by Bishop George W. Peterkin in 1878.
 During Mr. Lea's tenure the present church building was constructed. After Mr. Lea, Trinity had a number of rectors and went through
 a series of challenges and achievements as it eventually became established as one of the leading parishes in the Diocese. Since 1916 Trinity has had only six rectors.
Two of them went on to become bishops, and three of the others were seriously considered as nominees

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TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Building & Windows

 

“There are several classical ‘hall marks’ which stamp a truly Christian congregation. The first is the care and maintenance of the buildings.
 The building houses God’s Altar and is the Temple of the Most High. Certainly Trinity scores ‘full marks’ in this classification.
The church, parish house, meditation garden, and grounds bespeak a loving care to an extraordinary degree.”


This statement was made by our former Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Wilburn D. Campbell, in the book “Trinity Episcopal Church,” by James R. Haworth.

The land now occupied by Trinity Church was donated in 1882 through A. A. Low, a New York associate of Collis P. Huntington,
then president of the C & 0 Railroad. Mr. Low's family also raised a substantial part of the money needed to build the church.

When the congregation felt it could assume responsibility for the balance, the church was built and occupied in 1884. For many years
 after that the vestry minutes reflect the struggle the congregation had as it eventually liquidated the debt on the church building.
 Dealing with debt was a concern of many Trinity vestries over the years as the church building was expanded, a parish house was built,
 the parking lot acquired and other improvements added.


The present parish house was built in 1924 on the site formerly occupied by the rectory. It cost over $100,000, which must have been a daunting sum at the time.
 The chairperson of the Building Committee was John W. Ensign, son of Ely Ensign, who had been chairperson of the Building Committee for the church back in 1883.

The parish house has over 30 rooms, virtually all of which have been renovated as have the heating,
air conditioning and kitchen facilities of the parish house. The parish house has more than adequate space for the
present needs of the congregation and substantial space for expansion purposes.
A major expansion of the church nave and the parish house was undertaken in 1962 and the renovated buildings were ready to be used on Easter Day 1963.

The Bethlehem Chapel is located on the ground floor of the parish house and is used for small weddings, funerals, and other occasions.
The Chapel was beautifully renovated in 1987 and in 2003 following a small fire.

The Church itself is cruciform in shape and has been described as "English Chapel" in design,
exterior being finished in brick with stone trim. The buttresses, which support the high-pitched slate roof, lend a Gothic air to the interior.

A cloister connects the parish house and church with Willet stained-glass windows depicting the seven sacraments. With a single exception,
 all of the windows in the church itself are either Willet or Tiffany stained-glass windows. The organ, which was installed several
 years ago, is estimated to have a replacement cost of $250,000. Five hundred persons can be seated comfortably in the church.
 The church is carpeted and has a sound system with wireless microphones.

At the time the church was renovated in the early 1960s, an outdoor walled garden was constructed where the congregation gathers after church services
 in the summer months for tea and lemonade. A stone altar is set in the east wall, which permits small outdoor services on appropriate occasions.
The columbarium was added in 1989 and expanded in 2003.

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