In 1872 Rev. Ebenezer Arnold who had been identified with the Centenary and the Brown Memorial Methodist churches of Syracuse, felt impelled to devote his energies to the improvement of religious conditions in the Fourth ward, where the population was rapidly increasing and were practically without churches. From that time to the autumn of 1876, he labored zealously, often preaching in the open air, and almost without remuneration during the whole period. He was finally rewarded by the organization of the Rose Hill Methodist Episcopal church in the fall of 1875. The disused chapel of the Grace Episcopal church was purchased and moved across the canal to the corner of Highland and Douglass streets. The new organization was short-lived; the last annual meeting was held in October, 1880, and the society soon disbanded. In the spring of 1885, the Presbyterian Association of Syracuse took the Rose Hill Mission under its care and gave its pastoral charge and that of Scattergood Mission in the Seventh ward, to Rev. Alfred E. Myers. On the 15th of November, 1886, the Westminster Presbyterian church was organized with fifty one communicants. The new church edifice was occupied for the first time in September, 1887. Mr. Myers now became pastor of the new church. In October, 1889, a mission Sunday school was established on the corner of Butternut and Farmer streets.
Submitted 12 July 1998