First Baptist Church in America
The Organ
When the Meeting House was built, no musical instruments were used by the Baptists, so the organ that you see in the gallery is of a later date. A small second balcony existed in the place where the organ was eventually installed. Dr. Manning had reintroduced congregational singing in the 1770s,and the first musical instrument used here was a cello in 1804.
In 1834 George Greenleaf Hook built an organ, their Opus11, for the Charitable Baptist Society of Providence, Rhode Island. It was a gift from the Honorable Nicholas Brown. This case consisted of the central five sections of the present case and most of the side panels. The organ itself was rebuilt and enlarged in 1884 (Hilborne T. Roosevelt), 1920s (Skinner & Co.)1957 (Wicks Organ Co.), and finally in 2000 by the Foley-Baker Co.