St. John’s Church History:

In 1824 in pursuance of a notice given by The Reverend Augustus L. Converse a group convened at the Schoolhouse in the Village of Marcellus and County of Onondaga at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of said day for the purpose of taking the necessary steps for the incorporation of themselves into a Society or Church.” Reverend Converse took the chair and led the meeting, electing two Wardens and Eight Vestry members. It was further unanimously resolved by said Meeting that the Church so to be incorporated should be known in Law by the name and title of 'St. John's Church of Marcellus.'

In 1833, the first St. John's Church was built - a small wooden structure facing south on Main Street. The Reverend Thomas Ruger accepted a call as the first full time rector in 1839. One night in December, 1866, the church building burned to the ground. There was no insurance and the small building, which the congregation had sacrificed to erect and had worked hard over the years to maintain, was a total loss.

Under the energetic leadership of the new rector, Reverend R. M. Duff, the congregation of St. John's resolved they could and would build again. With hard work, money was raised and a new church was built on the old lot. The second St. John's was consecrated by the Rt Reverend Frederick D. Huntington, Bishop of Central New York, in 1869.

On the morning of July 3rd, 1879 the church was destroyed by fire again in the most disastrous fire in the history of Marcellus village.  At the first meeting after the fire, the Vestry resolved to “take measures at once to raise the money to build a new church." The old site was sold and soon afterward a lot was purchased on Orange Street. The site of this lot was on the west side of Orange near the corner of Main Street. On September 16, 1880, the cornerstone of the new church was laid.

In April of 1911, an investment in property was made by the purchase of two houses and lots on the corner of Maple and Orange Streets and it was decided to build a parish house. The cornerstone was laid May 15, 1913 and the parish house opened with a reception on November 25 of that year. The church built in 1881 was in need of repairs and a decision was made to move the old church to the new location by team and wagon. There was a great gallery of spectators for this event. The expense of relocating the church was a huge, but it was less than the cost of a new building.

The Reverend Harold D. Gosnell came to St. John's in 1933. On Easter Day 1934, a two manual Moeller organ was dedicated to the glory of God and in loving memory of two devout sisters, May E., and Martha G. Clift.

In the fall of 1951 - a most welcome memorial given by the Nightingale family which provided a covered entrance over the steps to the church. This was followed in 1956 by the construction of a tunnel providing a covered passage between the church and the small parish house. The third major improvement was an addition to the parish house. In 1959 with the generous gift from Mrs. Alice Pilot and an equal amount pledged by the families of the parish, the addition was built, and a grateful Vestry voted that the new structure be named "Pilot Memorial Hall."   

On the occasion of St. John’s 200th Anniversary, September 15, 2024. Pictured are Rt. Rev. Dr. DeDe Duncan-Probe, Bishop of Central New York, Rev. Deacon David Stickley, St. John’s Music Director, Joshua Bartolotta, and the St. John’s 200th Anniversary Choir.