A Community Effort (1918–1919)
Morgan Hill's organ was purchased used from Santa Rosa Methodist Church
  • In 1918, Pastor Rev. L.P. Walker spotted a used pipe organ for $250 from the Santa Rosa Methodist Church. It was delivered to the Morgan Hill Railroad Depot as freight.
  • The organ, likely built in the late 1800s, was transported from the Depot by borrowed truck and stored in a shed behind the church.
  • Installation took two months. An organ installer from Los Gatos supervised the installation, and the pastor's son, Paul Walker, was the chief assistant installer and laborer. 
  • A wall was cut behind the pulpit to make room, extending into the Sunday School room.
  • The first organist was H.V. Pillow, a church member and music teacher.
How It Worked
Sound came from the air bellows, which were first operated manually, then later by electric machine
  • Originally powered by a manual bellows, pumped by young volunteers (who got to skip sermons while on duty!).
  • The bellows handle extended into a narrow passage, with just enough room for one or two small people to pump the bellows.  A weight at the end of a string was thumped by the organist, Mr. Pillow, to signal it was time to start pumping.
  • The 19 pipes that are still visible were functional, and more were behind those to add a variety of sounds.  The organ in the picture, from 1830, is similar to what we believe was installed in the Morgan Hill church.
  • In 1921, an electric blower was added, and the bellows were retired.  The teenage pumpers had to rejoin the congregation and listen to the sermon.
Legacy and Replacement
The pipe organ was replaced with a "modern" (in 1980) electronic organ, still used today
  • The organ was rebuilt in the early 1950s and dedicated in memory of Lillian Lenfest.
  • Around 1980, the pipe organ was replaced by a Rogers Cambridge 220-II electronic organ.
  • The Rogers organ, still in use today, was dedicated in 1987 and continues to be maintained by a certified technician.