Union Sunday School

505 Larrabee Street
Clermont, IA 52135

(This instrument received an Organ Historical Society Citation No. 197.)
Builder: W.W. Kimball Organ Co., 1896.
Restoration by Hendrickson Organs, 1979
Restorative work by Dobson Organs, 2012
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 27
Compass: 61/30
Stops: 24
Action: Tubular-pneumatic

Notes: Photo of Miss Anna Larrabee at the Big Kimball Organ (Historic Clermont: First edition, 1968). A book compiled and written for Clermont Historical Society. The walnut case measures 20 feet long, 11 feet deep and 7 1/2 feet high. The pipes extend up to make a height of 20 feet.

From Dobson Organs (2012): The organ is in regular use for concerts. The organ was renovated by 1979 by Hendrickson Organ Co. It has been outfitted with an electric blower circa 1910, but retains its original hand operated bellows. (information from city of Clermont website, and an online article in "The Newspapers of Fayette County" dated August 19, 2009. According to the article, the organ is to be removed in September 2009 and sent to Dobson Organ Company for restoration, and returned in Spring of 2010.) This instrument is the largest remaining unaltered tubular-pneumatic organ built by W.W. Kimball. A restoration was undertaken in 1979-80 by the Hendrickson Organ Co. of St. Peter, Minnesota, with Barry Lund and Kenneth Acrea performing most of the work on site. Major aspects of the restoration include complete releathering and the revision of the wind system to properly accommodate the electric blower added in 1910. Complete details can be found in an article written by Acrea for the Fall 1981 issue of The Tracker. The original Kimball windchest design employed valves that were riveted to their pneumatic motors, which made proper seating difficult. In the restoration, the rivets were replaced with screws to permit the valves to seat more securely. Unfortunately, these screws were unplated and have rusted, and have now become as rigidly attached to the motors as the rivets whose faults they were to eliminate. Our restorative repairs include the replacement of the unplated screws with plated ones, the rebushing of the manual and pedal keyboards, a thorough cleaning, and the repair of damage to pipework from cone tuning. Addtional information from Hendrickson Organs and the Organ Historical Society Archive. Photos from Dobson (1912).

Organ Historical Society as of 2012.


GREAT ORGAN
16 Double Stopped Diapason
8 Open Diapason
8 Gamba
8 Dulciana
8 Melodia
4 Octave
2.2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
Mixture III
8 Trumpet
Sw/Gt (8/4)

SWELL ORGAN
16 Bourdon Bass
16 Bourdon Treble
8 Open Diapason
8 Stopped Diapason
8 Salicional
8 Aeoline
4 Violina
4 Flute Harmonique
2 Flautino
Dolce Cornet III
8 Oboe & Bassoon (double pull)
Tremolo

PEDAL ORGAN
16 Double Open Diapason
16 Bourdon
8 Flute
Gt/Ped
Sw/Ped

ACCESSORIES
Bellows Signal
Three compositions (combinations) pedals for Gt and for Sw