Grace Church Complex

The land where the Grace Church Complex stands was deeded from the Massapequa Indians to Thomas Townsend of Rhode Island in 1679. Townsend deeded some of his Massapequa lands to his son-in-law, Major Thomas Jones, in 1696. Thomas and Freelove Jones were the first settlers in what became known as South Oyster Bay. The couple built a brick home at Fort Neck which has not survived. Their gravestones were moved from their 6,000-acre Fort Neck property in the 1890s to the Floyd-Jones Family Cemetery.

Plans to build Grace Church were approved in September 1844 after a group decided to organize an Episcopal church. Grace Church received its Certificate of Incorporation from New York State on August 12th 1844. General Thomas Floyd-Jones donated the land for the church. Originally, the brick foundation supported a structure 36 feet long and 24 feet wide with 16-foot ceilings. The church faces south toward the main road and is wood frame, covered in wood shingles. The square bell tower, above the main entrance, has a shingled, low spire below a cross. The entrance leads to a one-bay vestibule adjacent to a three-bay nave, with a chancel to the rear of a white marble altar. The interior features dark oak pews and an exposed beam ceiling.

The first Rector was William A. Curtis. Grace Church was officially consecrated on April 13th 1847. The church was closed from Christmas to Easter of each year. John D. Jones donated another seven acres to the church in 1880 in memory of his wife. Grace Church was enlarged in 1905 by adding the chancel and porches plus a bell in the remodeled tower; Tiffany stained glass windows were installed, both round-arched and pointed-arched.

The congregation outgrew the "Old Grace Church" and constructed the current Grace Episcopal Church building in 1959 to 1960. The new church began to be used in September 1960. The Floyd-Jones House was built where the modern church now stands; the house was the home of Elbert Floyd-Jones and burned after a July 4th fireworks display. The servants' cottage from the Floyd-Jones House was moved to the Grace Church Complex in 1957; the cottage was constructed around 1870 and served as a rental home for many years. A former building between the church and the library, Wiley Hall (built in 1880), housed a Sunday School and parish hall; it was demolished in 1967. The Delancey-Jones Free Library building was constructed in 1896 and contains one room plus a shed-roofed rear addition. It was founded by a Civil War veteran, Brigadier General Delancey Floyd-Jones. The wood frame building with a front porch faces south and has one chimney on the north. The interior of the library has changed little, with the original bookcases, tables, and elaborate fireplace intact. The library was the only public library in Massapequa during tis first sixty years.

The Historical Society of the Massapequas usually offers tours and open houses at the Grace Church Complex from May through October on the third Sunday of the month (see the weblink below). A strawberry festival may take place at the complex in June 2021 (depending on pandemic conditions) with an apple festival in October. The Society also runs an open house at the complex at Christmastime.

Grace Church. History: An Historical Perspective on Grace Church, Grace Episcopal Church. January 1st 2009. Accessed April 26th 2021. http://www.gracechurchmassapequa.org/about-us/history/.

Historical Society of the Massapequas. Calendar of Events, 2021, Events. January 1st 2021. Accessed April 26th 2021. https://www.massapequahistoricalsociety.org/events.html.

Historical Society of the Massapequas. Item Description - photograph of home of Elbert Floyd-Jones, Massapequa Public Library, New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed April 26th 2021. https://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16373coll50/id/220/rec/3.

Historical Society of the Massapequas. Item Description - photograph of Floyd-Jones Servant Cottage, Massapequa Public Library, New York Heritage Digital Collections. Accessed April 26th 2021. https://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16373coll50/id/221/rec/10.

O'Brien, Austin. Dorko, Mary Jo. NRHP Nomination of Grace Church Complex, Massapequa, N.Y.. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1983.