The organ in Bethany Church was built in 1894 by George S. Hutchings of Boston, Massachusetts, as his Opus 341 for the Christian Church, which stood on the site of the current
Chandler Music Hall. The Congregational Church housed a two-manual, nine rank J. W. Steere & Son organ Opus 318 of 1891. When the Congregational and Christian churches merged in 1905 to become Bethany Church, the Hutchings organ was moved to the Congregational Church and the smaller Steere instrument was moved to the Methodist Church, which until 1992 was the Masonic Temple. The Steere organ was moved again to the Roman Catholic Church in Woodstock in 1984 where it exists today.
A 1914 rebuild of the Hutchings by C. H. Belknap probably included the alteration of the 4’ Violina to 8’ pitch, and the gold leafing of the once decorated case pipes. The Violina was later returned to its original pitch. The electric blower installed in 1920 by the Estey Organ Company cost $287, but the hand-pumping mechanism is still intact. At the time of the 1948 redecoration of the auditorium the finish on the oak case was removed and wiped with light blue paint and the case pipes were painted light blue with gold mouths.
In 1992 what could have been a disastrous fire was discovered in time but the auditorium and the organ received extensive smoke damage. Because the centennial anniversary of the organ was near at hand, a committee was formed to have restorative work done to the organ during the time the pipework was out being cleaned. The firm of Watersmith Pipe Organs of Enfield, N.H. was engaged for the work. The organ was pitched to A-440, slide tuners installed and the wind returned to 3” pressure, thus restoring the original brighter-sounding voicing. The casework was again stripped and restored to the former golden oak color, and an oil finish applied. The case pipes were stripped and repainted a medium brownish grey with gold mouths and stenciled bands near the tops, producing a very handsome appearance. A set of Deagan chimes added in 1961 has a small keyboard below the Great manual.
