Pipe Organ Database

In 1956, under the supervision of the church's organist, Robert J. Phillips, the organ was electrified by the Williams Organ Co. of Swampscott, MA. The central part of the gallery was extended to accommodate a detached electric console. During the electrification, three of the Johnson stops (Great 4' Flauto Traverso and 2⅔' Twelfth; Swell 8' Quintadena) were replaced. The organ was augmented with the pipes and windchests from a 22-rank, 1910 Aeolian residence organ, Op. 1131, originally built for Edwin G. Crossett in Wianno (Cape Cod), MA. The enlarged organ, now virtually doubled in size, became, once again, the largest church organ in Taunton. To accommodate these additions, the wooden wall behind the organ was removed and the chamber was extended back into the tower. Unfortunately, this deepening of the chamber trapped much of the organ's sound, decreasing its projection into the church. -- 2005 OHS Handbook

There are errors in the extrapolated stoplist given here. The second stoplist, sourced from the 2005 OHS Handbook, citing the original dedication program, is more accurate.

In May of 1890, subscriptions were solicited to raise $3,000 for a new organ; a month later, the full amount had been pledged. A contract was signed with Johnson & Son on July 18, 1890, to build an organ for $3,900, taking the [1845] Hook organ at $250 in trade. By a subsequent agreement, two more stops were added for an additional, $150, making a total cost of $4,050, or $3,800 plus the old organ. The organ was completed on Friday, January 16, 1891, two days earlier than the contract required. A description of the organ in the church newsletter of 1892 stated, "The case is of dark, quartered oak. The displayed pipes are decorated in rich, subdued colors relieved by figures in gold and bronze. The dimensions of the organ are, height, 23 feet; width, 19 feet; and depth, 15 feet. The bellows is fed by a motor built by the Ross Valve Co., of Troy, NY, at a cost of $225."...

The new instrument was inaugurated in an evening concert on Wednesday, January 21, 1891, with selections performed by organists William C. Hammond and Walter J. Clemson, the church's quartette choir, and the all-male Harmonic Quartette. With this organ, the congregation again set a local precedent by possessing the largest, most up-to-date church organ in Taunton. It contained 26 speaking stops, 30 ranks and a total of 1,656 pipes. To improve the organ's tonal projection into the church, a wooden wall was built to seal off the unused space at the rear of the tower. -- 2005 OHS Handbook