Southern Indiana Living - Sept / Oct 2022

Jerry Finn, who at the time was the
president of the Caesars Foundation
of Floyd County, and Irv Stumler,
who was running for mayor, came on
board to help the Marshalls and the
church. Finn was the director of the
501(c)(3) foundation for the church,
and Stumler took on the role of project
manager for the renovation.
The church has come a long way
in the past decade. What was once a
building in disrepair is now a shining
beacon.
When you enter the church, you
walk through double wooden doors,
one noticeable feature is that the seats
are divided.
“This partition is a sign of the
times. Men sat on one side and women
sat on the other,” LeRoy said.
Ornate tables and chairs grace
the upper room as well, along with a
magnificent organ that was also part
of the original church. Unfortunately,
the organ is not functional.
“It could be functional for about
$230,000,” LeRoy said.
Heading outside to the back
of the church, visitors will discover
the beautiful Underground Railroad
Heading outside to the back of the church, visitors will
discover the beautiful Underground Railroad garden
area. Many outstanding statues and structures adorn
the garden, such as the gazebo that showcases the
100-year-old cupola that once sat atop the church
after the original steeple was destroyed.
14 • Sept/Oct 2022 • Southern Indiana Living
replicas of the original front doors.
According to LeRoy, these doors cost
$15,000 and were graciously donated
by Pat Harris, a realtor who lives in
the area. A small set of stairs takes
you through the front hallway, where
you will find identical rooms on either
side. The room to the right is the
reverend’s office, and the room to the
left has been renovated into a fully
functioning kitchen. They were originally
used as reading rooms. “The
Presbyterians were big on reading
about Presbyterian life,” LeRoy said.
Heading down the hallway,
you enter the lecture room, one of
two sanctuaries in the church. Large,
white, iron pillars are found throughout
the room, and a wooden lectern,
circa 1852, is centered on the pulpit.
Another sanctuary is located on
the second floor, this one more ornate
than the bottom-floor room. Visitors
enter this room through one of two
doors that showcase stained glass inserts.
The 1852 glass windows were
once part of the lower floor of the
church. In the center of the sanctuary
hangs a replica of the chandelier that
once hung in the church. The original
was a triple chandelier, but the one
currently in the building is a single
chandelier. According to LeRoy, it
would have cost $65,000 to hang one
as large as the original.
The pews in the upper sanctuary
are also original to the building, but
garden area. Many outstanding statues
and structures adorn the garden,
such as the gazebo that showcases the
100-year-old cupola that once sat atop
the church after the original steeple
was destroyed.
Next to the gazebo is a mosaic art
piece honoring the enslaved people,
which was constructed by the class of
2016 of New Albany High School. According
to an article in the News and
Tribune in 2018, the mosaic is based
upon the artwork of Jacob Lawrence,
an artist whose work depicted the
Harlem Renaissance and Black history.
The piece incorporates chains,
the North Star and Harriet Tubman.
The church is open for regular
services on Sundays, plus the community
and school groups are welcome
to book tours. The church is
also seeking volunteers to help with
various programs and to become docent
guides. •
More information and history about the
church can be found at townclockchurch.
org or their Facebook page, Friends of the
Town Clock Church.
Pictured: (top) one of the statues in the Underground
Railroad Garden; (bottom) a mosaic piece honoring the
enslaved people, created by the New Albany High School
class of 2016 and based on the artwork of Jacob Lawrence,
an artist whose work depicted the Harlem Renaissance and
Black history. The piece encorporates chains, the North
Star, and Harreit Tubman.