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How did the Preservation Society Acquire the Church?
Persistence plus Patience!
The Pine Grove Community Church was constructed in 1896 as a nondenominational church. As the timeline below shows, the Methodists conducted regular services at the church for over 50 years. Then the Mennonite Mission met at the church from 1949 until October 1990 when the congregation had outgrown the confines of the small building. After that, as the timeline indicates, the church was no longer used for services.
The Altmire family, whose home abutted the church property, thought that the church lot was an extension of their land. Since the building was no longer being used for church services, they assumed that the property, including the church building, would revert to them. They proceeded to utilize the building for personal storage. However, other people in the Pine Grove area questioned their use of the building and began to investigate the legalities. Robert R. Fields, a nearby resident and Town of Watson Board Member, offered to conduct a title search to determine the rightful owners of the church property.
Robert Fields,
A Founder of the Preservation Society
His search provided the following information:
In 1890, over 30 acres of land at the junction of the Pine Grove and Austin Roads was purchased by Mervin Austin. In 1893, Mervin Austin and Edith Austin,his wife, leased a half-acre, directly at the intersection, to the Pine Grove Church.
The deed contained a stipulation: If the building was no longer used as a church, the property's full title would revert to the Austin heirs.
The Altmires' deed specifically excluded the church lot, as well as another lot that had been previously sold. In 1996, once the Court determined that the Altmires did not have a claim to the property, the family removed their possessions from the building.
The Pine Grove Church half-acre lot is highlighted in green.
In the interim, Robert Fields spearheaded the formation of a
group of individuals interested in preserving the church including:
Clayton Bailey, Gregory Burker, John Kozick, Charles Bunke (Town Historian), and Lisa Becker (Historical Consultant). Attorney Kevin McArdle donated his services as their legal consultant.
About this same time, two members of the Marcellus family came forward saying that they were heirs of the Austins and thus had a claim to the church and its half acre. In July of 1997, they agreed to pass their ownership along to the perservation organization. However, their lawyer conducted his own research and found that thse individuals were not in actuality the Austin heirs.
Abstract of Title
At this point, arrangements were made to obtain an Abstract of Title. Dennis Mastascusa of the National Abstract Corporation donated his services and completed the Abstract by May 1, 1998. He determined that Jennie Austin was the last owner of the property. Her Will designated three individuals as heirs of the property. These specified heirs or their descendants would need to be contacted.
Only one of the heirs, Alfred Delles, was ever located. He was a local resident living in the same Township as the Church property. In August of 1999, Robert Fields entered in a discussion with Mr. Delles regarding his plans for the church building. Mr. Delles had no plan for the future of the building and was amenable to the ownership being transferred to a soon to be formed Pine Grove Community Church Preservation Society.
The Pine Grove Community Church Preservation Society was
incorporated in March 1998. In 2001, the Society gained title to the
church through a Quit Claim Deed signed by Alfred Delles on December 4,200o. This deed was recorded in the Lewis County Clerk's Office on March 23, 2001.
Quit Claim Deed from Alfred Delles to the Preservation Society
The Preservation Society is granted ownership and becomes responsible for the property.
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