History
In 1855, St. Paul’s Missionary Society was organized to expand the church’s ministry in the Louisville area. The society decided to establish a mission in the near vicinity of Louisville to be called St. Andrew’s. The following year a site was purchased for $4,600 on Chestnut Street, between Ninth and Tenth Streets. January 8, 1857, the vestry was elected and on January 30, The Rev. John Singer Wallace was called to be their rector. The first service of St. Andrew’s was held on Sunday morning, February 1, 1857 and the church was consecrated April 15th, 1857.
Two years later, August 20th 1859, The Rev. R. W. Lewis was called to be the rector. Three years after that, The Rev. Norman Badger was called on June 6th, 1862. However, in 1865 the property was sold, and in the following year, 1866 Mr. R. A. Robinson Sr. gave the lot on the Northeast corner of Second and Kentucky. Here a church was erected and consecrated on the 21st of June, 1868. This location would be home to St. Andreans for the next sixty-eight and a half years.
The Rev. W .Q. Hullihen was called December 14th, 1868. Soon after, in 1870, the walls of the church were deemed unsafe and it was necessary for the church to rebuild. The Rev. C. E. Shield was called to be rector October 26, 1871. Halting the trend of rapid turnover, he served as rector for 12 years. On November, 1st, 1883, the former Bishop of "Cape Palmas and parts adjacent" (region of Western Africa near the Ivory Coast), The Rt. Rev. C. C. Penick D.D. came on as the church’s 6th rector. Also that year The Rev. C.M. Young was called as Assistant Rector and Minister in Charge of St. Luke’s “Colored Mission” the first in what would be a legacy of establishing missions in the Louisville area and beyond. On January 9th 1884 the congregation decided to enlarge the church building. By November second of that same year the expansion was completed. Two years later in 1886, classrooms were expanded and by 1887 discussion began around building a new church. The cornerstone was laid on May 2nd, 1889 at 5:30 pm with the Rt. Rev. T. U. Dudley officiating. The old sanctuary became the parish hall. The first service was held on Sunday October, 16th, 1889. In 1893, the Rev. L.W. Burton followed Bishop Penick and served until 1895.
In 1893 the people of St. Andrew’s and the diocese saw a need for a church in the extreme eastern part of the city and thanks to the generosity of Mr. R. A. Robinson II, son of the benefactor responsible for the purchase of the property on second and Kentucky, land was purchased on Fischer Avenue. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church was established as a mission of St. Andrew’s. The mission quickly became self-sufficient and as a parish moved to the corner of Shelby and St. Catherine.
The Rev. John K. Mason succeeded Burton in 1896. The Rev. John K. Mason remained rector until his death in 1911. In 1906 St. Andrew’s established their third mission, Emmanual church, in the extreme southern part of the city. The property was also given by Mr. R. A. Robinson II.
The Rev. W. Cosby Bell began serving as rector on April 18th, 1911. The following year Cosby resigned to accept a post as the chair of theology for Virginia Theological Seminary. May, 27th, 1912, the Rev. James M. Owens, of Norfolk, Virginia accepted the call of rector. Owens resigns in 1916 and after an extensive search the Rev. John S. Douglas of Huntington, West Virginia accepted the call.
Interestingly, in 1913, 1918 (to conserve resources during the war), 1924, 1927, and 1937 discussions emerged between different parties of St. Andrew’s, Calvary, and St. Paul’s regarding either two or three of the churches merging together. Such a merger never occurred.
The 1930’s were a tough time for much of this country, and St. Andrew’s fortunes were no exception. The Great Depression was upon us. The concentration of Episcopal churches, the scarcity of resources and the population shift of urban America away from the city hit our parish hard. The church had dwindled down to fewer than 200 members down from its peak of almost 700 in 1914.
Effective Dec. 31, 1936, after twenty years of service to St. Andrews, the Rev. John S. Douglas resigns. After the Rev. J. Wilson Hunter of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, declined the call of rector, Bishop Clingman recommended that Father Douglas continue until February of 1937. He was elected Rector Emeritus.
January of 1937 the Great Flood devastates Louisville, causing 220,000 people to evacuate. St. Andrew’s suffers tremendous damage including to the Church, parish hall, rectory, and auditorium. The already difficult time was exacerbated by the aforementioned realization that the downtown area even prior to the flood could hardly sustain four Episcopal Churches in such close proximity. Christ Church Cathedral, Calvary, St. Paul’s, and St. Andrews were all within a narrow strip two blocks wide by little over a mile and a half.
February 13th, 1937, the vestry meet to discuss the damage and their future. In the following couple of months with both St. Paul’s and St. Andrew’s without a rector, Bishop Clingman guided the churches to consider a three church merger between Calvary, St. Paul’s and St. Andrew’s with oversight to be given to the rector of Calvary. St. Andrew’s was to be sold with half the proceeds to be given to St. Paul’s and Calvary and half to go towards this new merged church. The proposition also suggested an eventual church founded by St. Andrew’s to be established in the Highlands. St. Andrew’s voted in favor of the merger and the first joint service was held on April 18th, 1937. On May 12th transfer of all realty to “Calvary-St. Paul’s” was ordered by the vestry. St. Andrew’s selected six members to serve with six from the other two parishes to form the leadership of this new church.
By 1938 the merger proved unsuccessful and St. Andrew’s announced its plan to establish a congregation in the Highlands under its own name. The merger was dissolved and all property and memorials were returned to their respective parishes. Bishop Clingman declared that by March 1, 1938 St. Andrew’s was to be organized and functioning at its temporary location at the corner of Bardstown Rd. and Richmond Drive. Bishop Clingman was elected as temporary rector of the parish. On April 1st of that year, the Rev. J. Wilson Hunter accepted the call as St. Andrew’s 12th rector and would serve until 1946.
In 1939, St. Andrew’s purchases its current campus on the corner of Woodbourne and Ellerbe and builds a one story parish house and auditorium. On April 30th, the cornerstone from the church building at second and Kentucky was laid at the new home of St. Andrews. The foundation was built and used as worship and Christian education space until they began construction of the current sanctuary and Collins Hall shortly after the end of World War II. In fact the church was one of the first post war building contracts in this area. The construction was in full swing by the summer of 1946 and the church was completed and dedicated the following year.
May 20th, 1946 The Rev. Andrew E.F. Anderson, D.D. ministry begins at St. Andrew’s. Everything was moved into the new sanctuary for the first service on the first Sunday of February, 1947. The Dedication of the completed church celebrated on September 28th, 1947. Father Anderson served the parish for thirty years, during which time the church procured an organ, with a fascinating history. He oversaw the installation of our murals and worked closely with artists in creating our stained glass windows. He served through the post world war era, through the Korean war, the Vietnamn war, the civil rights movement, the ordination of women and much more. He was succeeded in service by The Rev. Frank Cayce who served from 1977 to 1983. He was followed in service by his assistant rector, The Rev. John Hines, who served from 1984 until the year 2000. After a long interim period, The Rev. Steve Wilson arrived as rector in December of 2001 and served until spring of 2004. The interim rector The Rev. Ben Maas began serving as interim in July of 2004 and was called to be the 17th rector of St. Andrews in May of 2005 and continues to serve.
