Until June, 1997, Sacred Heart had a modest two manual organ, built by the Hutchings Organ Company of Waltham Massachusetts. I am uncertain of the exact date it was built, but it is believed to have been built sometime around 1910. This seems to be somewhat reasonable, since Mr. Hutchings died in 1913.

The organ had four divisions- the Great organ (the lower keyboard); the Swell organ (the upper keyboard); the Pedal organ (controlled by a two and a half octave set of foot pedals); and the Chancel organ (also played from the lower keyboard).

The pipes for the Great, Swell, and Pedal divisions were located in the Choir loft; as was the console (where the organ is played from). The pipes for the Chancel organ are still located behind the main altar of the Church. Unfortunately, the Chancel organ has been neglected for a number of years, and is no longer in a state suitable for playing.

The organ console was pneumatic, and along with the rest of the organ it had been plagued by deteriorating leather valves. When the leather deteriorates, it causes many problems; among them pipes which no longer play. Organ leather normally lasts about 60 years; the leather in the Sacred Heart organ was still all original. Replacement parts for old organs such as this are very hard to find. New ones can be fabricated, but at a very high cost. Thus the organ needed a major rebuilding to restore its full function. Unfortunately, the decision was made to replace this organ with an electroinc organ, rather than to rebuild it. An organ made by the Andrews Organ company was installed in its place in the summer of 1997.

Here is what was inside the organ at Sacred Heart.

Here is a picture of yours truly at the Sacred Heart organ in June, 1995, when I was still a regular organist at Sacred Heart.

Here's a list of stops of the Sacred Heart Organ. Stops are the different voices/sets of pipes in the organ.

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