Religious Structures of Dryden
Dryden Presbyterian Church
6 North Street, Dryden
 
The early pioneers in the Town of Dryden settled in Willow Glen, and by 1799 they were holding religious meetings in Elias Cady’s barn, with circuit riders from the Presbyterian Society providing occasional services. One mile to the West, down in Dryden Village, by 1808 a group of Christian pioneer settlers started meeting as Church of Christ, under the authority of the Presbyterian Church. In 1820 they joined with the Ithaca Presbytery, only to leave them in 1850 over the slavery issue (The Drydenites were opposed to slavery.) They later joined with the Cortland Presbytery. Back to 1820: Abram Griswold gave a strip of land to the Presbyterian Society which was located in the SW corner of lot 39, at the Dryden Village four corners. A massive south-facing Colonial Revival Style building was started which took three years to complete, due to shortage of funds for nails and glass. In 1834 more land was donated to the original plot and more was purchased from both neighbors, the Fergusons on one side and the Southworths on the other, for the church sheds needed to shelter the horses and buggies. In 1861 the main entrance was changed to face North Street. In December 1938, the building was destroyed by fire. Lost also was the village clock which had been in the church tower since 1851. The current brick (more fireproof) building was completed in 1940, with the North wing added in 1957. In 1973 the sanctuary was enlarged and in 1993 a large remodeling project was undertaken.
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