SOUTHERN TOUR
Using the oldest county maps available, I have located many of the homes and public places that are mentioned in the story. To confirm if the building standing on the site is the one in the story I have searched deeds to confirm that it is the actual building. Beyond this, I have also relied on the present owners' testimony that the building had not been replaced.
The local libraries and historical
societies have provided the best resources for this study. The best book
about Finney has been the 1989 Rosell and Dupuis edition. It gives the
actual names of people originally included in Finney's memoirs. It also
gives an abundance of additional information in the footnotes. Old
county maps have divulged so much valuable information, which could not
be gained any other way.
TRENTON (Barneveld)
- Finney mentions
that a flow of opposition came out of Trenton. It was an Universalist
stronghold in this area for years. In fact, this is the location of the
first Universalist Church in New York. The congregation still meets
occasionally and a surprising number of very historic buildings still
remain in this interesting little village.
- The old stone
meeting house where Finney preached in Trenton still stands, and is now
a beautiful private residence.
UTICA
- I have found the First Presbyterian
Church there, which was erected after the revival. There was a second
Presbyterian Church of Utica, which no longer exists.
- The location of the historic Bagg’s Hotel, which is central to the revival story in Utica, has been found, though the building no longer stands. Only the foundation stones can be seen. (This site is not on the main tour, but it can be visited as a side excursion on the self-guided tour.)
WESTERN (Westernville)
- The Presbyterian Church Finney preached
in is still active there. Some of the descendants of those mentioned in
the Memoirs still live in the village and attend the church.
- I have found the a home that Finney had stayed in.
-
You can see the William Floyd Homestead,
who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Finney
mentions that he had led Floyd's wife to the Lord.
- I have located the site of the farm rented by Pastor George Gale, who had moved there from Adams after Finney left. Finney stayed with him there during the revival.
ELMERS HILL & WRIGHTS SETTLEMENT
- Finney preached in a school house at Elmers Hill, but it was removed to make way for a new reservoir.
- In
Wright’s settlement, the original homestead where the revival broke out
still stands, though not on the same property. It is now a Golf
clubhouse. This was also the boyhood home of Albert Barns, who wrote a
popular Bible commentary.
ROME
- The Presbyterian Church and a nearby
court house, both of which are mentioned in the story of the revival of
Rome still stand today. While neither are the original buildings
Finney’s visited on his first meetings in Rome, he did preach in this
church on his second visit to Rome thirty years later.
WHITESBORO
- A handsome brick Presbyterian Church
still stands in Whitesboro, which grew out of the revival. There are
many buildings still standing right where they did when Finney was
there.
- I have also found the location of the farm
where Finney's in-laws once lived, where he often retreated and rested
between revivals.
- Part
of the training Institute that Pastor George Gale had built in
Whitesboro still stands in the village.
NEW YORK MILLS
- Perhaps one of the most popular stories in Finney's book is the time he visited a factor and brought all work to a halt so that the people who were under conviction could be saved. Many of the original brick mills still stand today. I have been able to determine the specific one that Finney visited.
- A
large old Presbyterian Church, which was affected by the revival, stands
on the original location today.
NEW HARTFORD
- Finney’s revival
was strongly supported by the local Presbyterian pastor who served here.
The original building still stands in beautiful condition and remains
active. It had been started by the grandson if Jonathan Edwards.
CLINTON
-
The Presbyterian Church that was here when
Finney visited this village has been replaced, but the location has been
found. This is the place where they packed Finney’s bags and invited him
to leave town.
- It is believed that when Finney was a
young lad he attended school here on the grounds of what is now Hamilton
College.
HANOVER
VERNON
- There is a
Presbyterian Church there, though the building is not the same. Both
Finney and Nash are supposed to have preached here.
VERNON CENTER
- This is just an interesting hamlet to pass through on the way to Verona. It is also the place that old timers determined to be the first place in Oneida County to experience the out break of revival.
VERONA
This little village
is noted for being the place where Daniel Nash died. He was almost
interned in the grave yard just down the street from the Presbyterian
Church.
VIENNA/CAMDEN
Finney preached in the little hamlet of Vienna during swing through Oneida County much later in his career. There is no evidence that revival took place here. I have not done much study of the church in Camden, but have not found any evidence that Finney actually preached there, although he said he preached throughout Oneida County. There is no doubt that the church there was directly affected by the Finney revivals as the pastor who pioneered the church was one of the main supporters of the new measures and reported growth as a result of them.
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