History

Our Past

In 1793 Garret Boone, first agent of the Holland Land Company, cut a path through the forest from Fort Schuyler to the Cincinnati Creek. He located his cabin here and called it Oldenbarneveld after a patriot martyr of Holland. This made the town, since named Barneveld, one of the oldest settlements in the area.

It was here in 1803 that our religious society was organized by Francis Van der Kemp, Adam Mappa, and Luther Guiteau. Mappa and Van der Kemp had fled Holland after unsuccessfully seeking to establish representative government. It was natural that these church founders emphasized democracy and freedom within this church. This they did by basing membership on good moral character rather than on doctrinal statements.

Our Present & Future

We have a keen appreciation of our history, and we have restored our historical buildings in gratitude and respect for
the past and hope for the future.

Through the years this church has stood as a monument to those who believe in the right of individuals to govern themselves and make up their own minds in the realm of ultimate beliefs and commitments. Although this church has never been large in numbers, its influence has emanated far beyond the village limits, affecting the lives of well and little known men and women for nearly two hundred years.

Buildings

The church owns and maintains three historic buildings, the church circa 1816, the Van der Kemp parsonage circa 1797, and Unity Hall circa 1896. The parsonage includes a room devoted to housing church artifacts.
Unity Hall is leased to a not for profit foundation that shares the use of the hall with the Church and other community organizations presenting a wide range of programs and events.

The Church

Unity Hall

Sophia Mappa Guild

This open group gives area women an opportunity to learn together the art of quilt making and to get to know one another better through a creative process. The Guild's major annual project is designing and hand making a quilt which is raffled off as a fundraiser for the church. Our quilts hang in many homes throughout the northeast.

Unitarian Church of Barneveld Ministers

John Sherman	1806-1810	John Robinson	1910-1913
Issac B. Pierce	1815-1842	John Mueller	1919
Edgar Buckingham	1842-1852	T.C. Brockway	1919-1920
Thomas W. Brown	1852-1853	Walter Taylor	1921-1936
John B. Wright	1854	Edwin Fairley	1936-1941
Charles Ritter	1855	Chantes G Givelius	1941-1952
B.L. Fanton	1856-1861	T. Conley Adams	1952-1956
J.M. Fox	1862-1866	Leon Limonettis	1957-1959
William Lilsbee	1867-1887	Dennis G. Kuby	1960
M. Hinckley	1888	Philip A. Lilk	1960-1961
Edward F Temple	1889-1892	Frank Edson Robertson	1961-1964
	1895-1898	Kenneth Mochel	1965
L.W. Lutton	1892-1893	Timothy Hume Behrendt	1965-1974
Walter Moore	1893-1894	Mitchell Lherak Howard	1975-1978
Wayland L. Beers	1898-1901	Kim E. Christiana	1982-1988
Charles Graves	1901-1907	Judith Hodgkinson	1990-1991
Lamuet Weatherby	1910	Lynn Ashley	2003-

The Barneveld Area

Barneveld and its nearby villages are comfortable, close knit communities with involved, caring residents. The area offers all of the the advantages of a small village in the foothills of the six million acre Adirondack Park, but is within minutes of Utica and Rome, small cities with many cultural opportunities and resources . Syracuse, scenic Cooperstown, Old Forge and Lake Ontario are within an hour's drive. Albany and Saratoga are about 90 minutes east, and Boston, New York City, Toronto, and Montreal are all within a 5 hour drive or one hour flight.

Utica's Stanley Performing Arts Center is one of the most beautifully restored vintage theaters in America. It hosts concerts and stage productions featuring musicians and actors from around the world. The Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute, now affiliated with the Pratt Institute, has a wonderful art Museum in Utica as well as a full art school.
In addition to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Glimmerglass Opera and the Farmer's Museum are enjoyable reasons to visit nearby Cooperstown while to the north, the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake has an amazing collection that chronicles the history of the largest state park in America.

Closer to home, in fact just a few doors down from the parsonage, is Unity Hall. Built in 1896 by the Church, the hall has meeting rooms and an upstairs theater that hosts plays, dances and a variety of other community events.

Central New York features four distinct seasons and a multitude of ways to enjoy all of them. With more per capita golf courses than just about anyplace in the country, pristine lakes, and rivers, rugged mountains, Central New Yorkers spend as little time as possible indoors during the spring, summer and fall. Our autumn foliage is spectacular, and the abundant snowfall each winter guarantees great conditions at any of several nearby ski areas (even one within Utica's city limits!). Unlimited trails beckon snow shoe and cross country skiing enthusiasts.

Big Cities and other places may be busier but when it comes to quality of life, Central New York is unsurpassed.

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