First Congregational Church and Cemetery

{{short description|Historic church in New York, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = First Congregational Church and Cemetery

| nrhp_type =

| image = LewisNY_FirstCongregationalChurch.jpg

| caption =

| location = US 9 at Elizabethtown–Lewis Road, Lewis, New York

| coordinates = {{coord|44|16|40|N|73|34|5|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = New York#USA

| built = 1812

| architect =

| architecture = Early-late 19th-century vernacular

| added = January 5, 2005

| area = {{convert|8.6|acre|ha}}

| refnum = 04001457{{NRISref|2009a}}

}}

First Congregational Church and Cemetery is a historic Congregational church and cemetery on US 9 at Elizabethtown-Lewis Road in Lewis, Essex County, New York.

According to a church historian (Mrs. Milford Lee), a group of residents met in Elizabethtown on 12 June 1812 to organize a local Congregational church. Those present included Rev. Cyrus Comstock and Rev. Burbank, as well as fourteen local residents who became members of the church.{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=George |title=Pleasant Valley, A history of Elizabethtown, Essex County, New York |url=https://archive.org/details/pleasantvalleyhi00brown |date=1905 |publisher=Post and Gazette |location=Elizabethtown, New York |pages=252–253}}

The church was built between 1823 and 1834 and slightly modified in the late 19th century. It is a rectangular, gable roofed frame building sheathed in clapboard siding. It features a large, central bell tower with an elegant Federal style belfry topped by a bell cast roof. Adjacent to the church is the {{convert|7.6|acre|adj=on}} village cemetery established in the 1820s and still in use today.{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=100911|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: First Congregational Church and Cemetery|date=September 2004|accessdate=2010-07-14 |author=Nancy L. Todd|publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation}} See also: {{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=100913|title=Accompanying five photos}} Among those laid to rest in its cemetery is the suffragist Inez Milholland.{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mnwp000449/|title=Inez Milholland Memorial, Lewis, N.Y., 1924|website=Library of Congress|access-date=2020-04-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/inez-milhollands-grave|title=Inez Milholland's Grave|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en|access-date=2020-04-21}}

The church became part of the larger United Church of Christ in February 1961.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/lewis-church-celebrating-2-centuries/article_d59ceb0b-0d53-5cea-8ada-8253a2eacd27.html|title=Lewis church celebrating 2 centuries|last=Reiner|first=Alvin |website=Press-Republican|language=en|access-date=2020-04-21}}

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.