Submitted by Tony Brigagliano, Sep 6, 2008 12:37

I used to work as an employee of the Bowery Mission. Prior to that employment, I was a volunteer and began to wonder about the history of this mission. I wanted to know when the mission was founded and according to a marble tablet in the religious hall ("chapel") at 227 Bowery, November 1879 is given. At the time the marble tablet was erected, the mission was located at 55 Bowery and the founder, Rev. Albert G. Ruliffson had died as well as the first Superintendent of the mission, Josiah Ward Childs. The tablet was erected a couple of years after Christian Herald under Dr. Louis Klopsch took over as the second president of the mission in 1895. If it were not for this marble tablet there would be no 1879 date. A search of local newspapers and the early Annual Reports of the Bowery Mission and Young Men's Home indicate the mission first opened its doors to the public on November 6, 1880. King's Handbook of New York City lists 1880 as the founding date of the mission and it is the one I use and refer people to when they inquire about the founding year. In 1880, the mission opened at 36 Bowery. Researchers interested in confirming this can look in area newspapers such as The New York Times. Then you can decide for yourself whether it's accurate to report "since 1879" or since 1880. Bear in mind, Christian Herald has been associated with the Bowery Mission only since April of 1895. Prior to 1895, the mission had its own independent fifteen year history under Rev. Ruliffson.

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