First Reformed Church of Schenectady

The church, along with the Stockade District were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and again with a boundary increase in 1984 (#73001267).

An Indian war party from Montreal killed sixty villagers including the church minister, Dominie Petrus Tessemacher (Tessachmaecher).

Domine Tessemacher was called to Schenectady from the church at Bergen, New Netherland, and was the first minister in the denomination to have been ordained in the new world.

Funds for this building were raised from an appeal to Governor John Nanfan to petition for contributions throughout the Province of New York.

After thirty years, the size of the congregation, including Indian communicants, had outgrown the seating capacity of the church.

On this building was the chanticleer clock tower and belfry, topped by the cock of St. Nicholas on a weathervane, all modeled after the pattern set in the Netherlands.

Because of disrepair of the building and the growing congregation, in 1812 the Consistory resolved to sell the sites of the first three churches to the city of Schenectady for 200 acres of land.

The congregation, with generous assistance from the Schenectady community, restored the edifice to its present form.

[6][7] In addition to the confessional standards of unity held in common by the Reformed Church in America (the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort, and Belhar Confession), First Reformed Church of Schenectady adopted the following covenant in 1962: We do hereby set forth the principles of the Christian faith as commonly held among us, believing that no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.