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St. Mary Episcopal Church The Parish's History |
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Aerial View of St. Mary Property circa 1800s
Located In Crystal Lake at 210 McHenry Avenue, the Gates House was originally the site of the Crystal Lake Academy, a private school attended by young people from the more prominent early Crystal Lake families. When the Free School Law became effective in 1855, the need for private schools diminished and the Academy failed financially.
The estate, then of some 6.5 acres, next became the family residence of Simon S. Gates, one of the pioneer settlers of Crystal Lake, a descendant of one of the patriots of Revolutionary War fame, and a member of a family which can trace its history back for 300 years in the United States and 600 years in England.
The Gates name is well known in the area because William D. Gates, son of Simon S. Gates, started a small clay business. In 1855 on the site of what was originally James McMillan's saw and grist mill. This clay business, located north of town on what is now Route 31 along Stickney Run, used a deposit of fine clay from that stream. It first produced drain tile, then later went on to produce very fine terra cotta known for its quality throughout the United States. This clay business came to be known as Terra Cotta Industries.
Gates House dates from circa 1852, and is of the Federalist Greek Revival style. It is believed to have been built by Jack Simonds (Andrew Jackson Simonds), a mason from Nunda, New York. One of his trademarks is evident on the south side of the house, in the foundation - a cobblestone row technique over rough fieldstone in a limestone mortar. This indigenous American technique is often seen in older buildings in New York State but few buildings exhibiting it have survived in this area. The brick work is also typical of Simonds. He must have been a very busy man as he also designed other landmark buildings in Crystal Lake including the Col. Palmer House, the Wallace House and the J.B. Walkup House.
While standing outside looking at the foundation work, notice that the wing to the left is of a different brick, a fact discovered when the building had up to ten coats of paint removed in a restoration project undertaken in August of 1985. It is believed that the main portion of the building was the actual Academy, with the left, cream-colored brick wing added later when it became a residence. The brick used for Gates House was from a little, local brickyard then in existence in Crystal Lake.
The very old and beautiful wrought iron fence that runs along McHenry Avenue dates from circa 1883 and is believed to be a project of then resident Henry I. James, who served as the president of the village council in Crystal Lake in 1893.
After several changes in ownership, the house came to be owned by the Mathis family for a period of time, but returned to the Gates family through the marriage of Mr. Major Gates, a nephew of Simon S. Gates, and Miss Rosalind Mathis. Frederick B. Mathis, Rosalind's father, was at one time the mayor of Crystal Lake.
The property remained in the Gates/Mathis family until 1947 when it was sold to St. Mary's Episcopal Church. The house was known for many years as "The Mission House" and served both as a site for services and meetings of the young congregation, as well as a rectory for the priest until the new church was built and dedicated in 1958. In 1972 the house was named after the Rev. Kenneth W. Tarpley, a much-loved resident of the community, Chairman of the English Department of Crystal Lake High School, and a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. It served as the Congregation's Parish House until 1985 when the current one was constructed, but still serves as the site of a number of church and community activities.
Upon entering Gates House, try to visualize how it must have looked before some of the relatively recent changes were made. Through the front door one immediately entered the living room which possessed a beamed ceiling, a wall of bookcases on the north wall directly in front of the viewer, and on the right a series of French doors that opened onto a wrap-around porch that looked out at expansive flower gardens. A fireplace once stood between the first two doors to the viewer's right.
Simon Gates' study, the small room to the viewer's left, is much the way it was more than one hundred years ago, including the original fireplace. In the wall under the staircase is a charming little area created by Mr. Major Frederick Gates, the former owner of the property, and his father so the young boy would have his very own reading area. On the left, beyond the stairway, a series of French doors formed a wall between the living room and the dining room, and a bay window, once located where the stairway to the lower level of the north wing addition, build in 1964, now stands, once let in light from the north.
The upstairs holds several bedrooms and a bathroom with wonderful old fixtures and tile floor. The spacious downstairs has walls that have been lovingly stenciled in another restoration project done in 1987. The kitchen has original cabinetry that gives the observer another glimpse into the past.
Another walk around the outside gives one a feel for the spaciousness of the grounds and the faint reminder, along the north wall of the cream-colored brick wing, of the rafters used for a Summer kitchen. All of the chimneys along the roof were removed and blocked off, save one, when they were no longer needed.
The position of Gates House in the history of Crystal Lake was recognized in a plaque ceremony by the Polly Crandall Chapter of Questers on September 13, 1981.