Paul R. Marchesano on March 8th, 2024:
The Reformed Church of Saugerties has a long history in this area dating back originally to its first joint meeting with St. Paul's Lutheran Church in 1730. Back then the church was known as the Katsbaan Reformed Church. In 1826 it became part of the town of Saugerties and the name of the church was changed to The Reformed Church of Saugerties. The church moved into the Village in 1839. In 1852 the congregation moved to its new worship center at 173 Main Street which is our present location. -- Church history web page

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Database Manager on January 25th, 2013:
Updated through online information from T. Daniel Hancock. -- Evidence suggests this was an organ built by Henry Erben for George Templeton Strong of New York, a lawyer and musical amateur in 1840. A recent restoration process with input and labor by Dana Hull, the late John Ogasapian, Barbara Owen, and Richard Hamar, was recently completed, and a rededicatory recital anticipated sometime in the Spring of 2013. Ogasapian styled this instrument as the oldest extant three-manual pipe organ in the United States.

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Database Manager on May 24th, 2010:
Identified through on-line information from Joseph Bertolozzi. -- It is believed the organ was built in 1840 for the New York lawyer and musical amateur George Templeton Strong. In the 1850's this organ was dismantled and installed in the Saugerties Reformed Church, where it was used until 1892. It was then given to the Katsbaan Reformed Church. The compass of the keyboards on the Katsbaan organ are from a low G to a high f, with no low G# (standard practice in a G compass organ). The pedalboard compass is from low G (includes the G#) to a C. This is one of the 5 most historically significant pipe organs in America, according to Dr. John Ogasapian. He believes that the Katsbaan Pipe Organ is the oldest extant three-manual organ in North America. It was featured in Dr. Ogasapian's article in The Keraulophon in October of 1989.