The organ has quite a rich history at Holy Cross. The first instrument of which mention is made (in the original 1884 frame church) was most likely of the harmonium/pump organ type. The church recently acquired a circa 1910 Estey harmonium which is probably very similar to our first instrument.
In 1915, a new pipe organ was donated by a "Miss Beach" and installed in the second (1903) church (our present Chapel). One pipe rank from this organ (the Swell Quintadena) survives in our present instrument.
In 1945, the Vestry authorized the purchase of a three-manual organ from the M.P. Möller Company of Hagerstown, MD, to replace the 1914 instrument, for the sum of $5,000. The old organ was sold to St. Philip's Parish, Brevard. When our present church was built in 1952, the organ and pipes were moved to the location where the present organ now sits. The pipes were placed behind a screen on the cantoris (liturgical north) side of the chancel. In 1989 the rector advised the vestry that the organ was in need of major repairs. The company servicing the instrument also cited mass deterioration of the organ itself.
In 1991 a vestry committee decided to rebuild the current organ and in January 1994 the organ was removed and work begun by the firm of John Dower, Co. of Lincolnton, NC. A year a year later the organ was totally rebuilt and more than doubled in size, complete with a refurbished four-manual Aeolian-Skinner console, new reeds, a Zimbelstern, and an antiphonal trumpet division. The chancel pipe screen was removed and a handsome façade of diapason pipes set in its place. The restored organ was dedicated on November 19, 1995. In the months that followed, a series of organ recitals took place featuring organists from throughout the country.
Click here to see the organ specifications.
