Junius building is 160;
open house Sunday

Passers-by have wondered for years: What is that building used for - is it a church or a one-room schoolhouse?

The 160-year-old building on the corner of Bostwick Road and Grange Hall Road has seen history pass it by.

Every Christmas season, commuters notice that the building comes alive with lighted candles in each window.

Today, the Town of Junius has come of age, having been awakened from a sleepy existence by an outlet mall on Rt. 318. Even the New York State Thruway built in the early 1950s failed to change the area to any extent.

Change is not always welcome and the little West Junius Methodist Church has been affected by increased traffic in the area. Descendants of the Newton family, who care for the historic federal style building lament that vandalism was never a problem until the mall changed everything.

Nonetheless, the public is invited to share in a celebration of the 160th anniversary of the building of the little house of worship by the Newton and Terbush families.

It was on February 28, 1848, that Abram S. Newton, David Newton, Stephen Collamer, Stephen Crouch, Tern O'Dell, and Jonathan Soules, gathered in the West Junius home of Henry Terbush, (now owned by E.T. Wadhams). Their goal was to erect a house of worship at the corner of what was then called Newton Road. and Grange Hall Road. The result was a circuit church that served area families with the preacher traveling from one church to another on Sunday mornings to give his sermon.

Fast forward to 1950, and Paul D. Newton, Chairman of the Board of Newarks Commercial Enterprises, a multi-faceted conglomeration of companies that had just hatched a new venture called Sarah Coventry Inc. Newton, who grew up just down the road from the little church, had worked his way up from office boy of the C.H. Stuart division of the conglomerate, and was now taking stock of his early roots and noticed that the church, as well as two acre adjoining cemetery had fallen on hard times.

Newton set about restoring the building and cemetery, making it available to area residents, aided by the Buisch family, especially the late Hazel Buisch who lived nearby on Grange Hall Rd. Mrs. Buisch could, at times, be seen mowing the two-acre cemetery with a push mower.

Now it is 2008. Paul D. Newton had died 57 years before, and Hazel Buisch had also passed, leaving the property in the care of Newton's daughter, Pearl Rook, family friends, and other Newton descendants. It has been struggle to maintain the property with escalating the cost of fuel, and materials. A permanent cemetery maintenance fund and a small trust fund for the church barely cover the costs of keeping the historic property in good repair.

An open house will take place Sunday, May 18, 2008, at the church building, from 1 to 3 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Grange Hall Road is the first left turn as you drive east on Rt. 318, just past Seneca Sportsman's Club and Dadsons Market.

Visit this grand example of a circuit riders church, and check out the history of Junius.

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