Blaine McCormack Pipe Organ in Historic Tiffany Sanctuary
On Sunday, November 29, 1896, Mrs.Emmons McCormick Blaine presented the
organ to the Presbyterian Church of Richfield Springs. It was given "in honor
of her husband Emmons Blaine, to bear his name always in this place
so dear to us both, and in its uplifting strains to be a memorial to his life.
The story of the organ follows:
On September 26, 1889, Anita McCormick, youngest daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Cyrus H. McCormick, married Emmons Blaine, son of James Blaine of
Maine. At the time of the marriage, Mr. James Blaine was Secretary of State
in the Harrison administration. Previously, as a Representative from Maine,
he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1868. In 1880
he was appointed Secretary of State in the garfield administration. In 1889
he again became Secretary of State, this time in the Harrison administration.
When the organ was dedicated, he was a Senator from Maine.
Mr. Emmons Blaine's death occurred in June 18, 1892 in Chicago
less than three years after his wedding. Shortly after his death, Mrs. Blaine
planned to place a memorial organ in the church where their marriage
had taken place.
In 1895, the work of enlarging the church was begun. To make room for
the organ, the building was lengthened twenty feet to the south and the
exterior reconstructed as before.
The organ is an exceptional example of the work of Farand and Votey of
Detroit, occupying the entire end of the Church. The windows, in memory of
George H. Case, were returned to their place and reframed with carving to
match the organ case. The walls were painted an Indian red, the background
of the organ a Persian blue, the arches and roof of the interior stained
to match the wood of the organ and pulpit furniture. The windows on the side
walls of the sanctueary of blue and green Tiffany glass completed the
Church interior, all donated by Mrs. Blaine. The total project was directed
by the Louis C. Tiffany Studio of New York City. The organ case was carved
by twenty men working six months (equivalent to one man's labor for ten years).
The case of the keyboard still shows a design of orange blossoms and bears
the inscription:
"This organ is placed here to the memory of Emmons Blaine by his
wife Anita McCormick Blaine and in commemoration of their marriage
in this Church, September 26, 1889".
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