Pipe Organ Database

Updated through online information from Scot Huntington.

Updated through online information from scot huntington.

Updated through online information from Scot Huntington. -- The mailing address is Delhi, New York, but geographically the camp is located in Andes, New York, which is good to know if you're using a GPS to get there.
The camp was founded in 1909 by the son of Elbridge Gerry on Tunis Lake, and moved to permanent quarters in 1912, the year the St. Joseph Chapel was built. The organ was moved with no changes except to the wind system, by Clark & Fenton from the Gerry estate to the chapel in 1915, according to graffiti found in the reservoir and windchests. Clark & Fenton manufactured a new static reservoir (single-rise) with three box feeders operating from a crankshaft and flywheel, located beside the organ within the organ chamber. The original small double-rise reservoir was converted to single-rise, the feeders were removed, and the unit functionally became a pressure regulator for the whole organ. The glued-in pallets were recovered in 1915. The organ was releathered and renutted by Brant Duddey circa 1966. The residual acid in the nuts coupled with the excessive dampness of the location, froze the nuts in place and corroded the threaded wires irreversibly beyond repair.
The organ was restored in 2014 by S.L. Huntington & Co. of Stonington, Connecticut. In addition to releathering and the usual restorative repairs, to better withstand this challenging environmental location and severely cramped and limited access layout, all threaded wires were newly custom-made, and non-corrosive alathon nuts used in place of leather nuts. The pallets were recovered and made removeable, and provision has been made for the future installation of an electric blower for practice and tuning purposes.
In 1922-24, the Gerry children built the Upjohn-designed stone church of St. James in memory of their parents, on estate grounds in the neighboring township of Bovina, and included an organ chamber designed to accommodate the Roosevelt, however, it was never relocated there, and the St. James church contained a Buhl unit organ, and post-2000, and Organ Clearing House relocated Möller unit organ.

Updated through online information from Scot Huntington. -- In 1966, Brant Duddey of Cedars, Pennsylvania, the Austin representative for Philadelphia, performed a mechanical refurbishment of the instrument. The cost of the work was $4,850 and included releathering of all reservoirs, feeders, and gaskets; new springs on the static reservoir, new leather nuts and felts; regulate 5 reeds; refelted the keyboards and pedalboard; cleaned the instrument interior and repainted the façade pipes in gold bronze. The work was completed on June 27, 1967.
In 1971, Duddy retuned the Great Dulciana as a celeste, and made a list of minor defects (ciphers, sticking keys, pipe speech and regulation issues, missing pipes, and tuning issues), problems which remained to the restoration in 2014.

Updated through online information from Geoffrey Dunham. -- The organ has not been electrified so is operated manually by turning a large wheel to push air into the bellows. It was also originally designed as a residential organ for the Lake House residence of Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry. Mr. Gerry, known as commodore as he lead the New York Yacht Club through the 1880's-1890's, was a devoted Anglo Catholic and amateur musician who composed mass settings. When the camp chapel was constructed in 1912, the organ was moved from the Lake House to St. Joseph's Chapel at Lake Delaware Boys Camp, founded by the Commodore's son, Robert Livingston Gerry in 1909.

Updated through on-line information from Austin Goss. -- The Organ was never located at St. James Episcopal Church for any length of time. 3 stops are used for pumpers' signals.

Relocation of organ originally built for E. T. Gerry residence (1877, Opus 34), previously enlarged in 1886. Relocation here [without changes?] by an undocumented individual or firm.

Relocated from E. T. Gerry residence, Lake Delaware, NY (3m, 27rk). [Listed for St. James Episcopal in 1967. Was this bldg St. James Episcopal or was organ moved from St. James Episcopal?] [Old OHS list says 2-14 which seems to be an error.] Rebuilt by Roosevelt 1886 [for St. James Ep?], 3-26. Hand pumped.