Johann Heinrich (John H.) Koehnken (1819–1897) was an American organ builder in Cincinnati, Ohio who worked under Matthias Schwab (1808–1862) and with Gallus Grimm (1827–1897). Their organs remain in use (with restoration work) at the Isaac M. Wise Temple (formerly Plum Street Temple) and other locations.
Koehnken was born on September 14, 1819 on a farm in Altenbuhlstedt in the Lower Saxony area of Germany (not far from Bremen) and was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. He worked as a cabinet maker for two years in Germany and two more in Wheeling, (West) Virginia, before coming to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1839 with his older brother, Johann Koehnken (1812–1872). Both brothers worked in the organ building trade. Johann Koehnken, the older brother, variously went by the surnames Conkey, Konkey, and Koenke and built organs in Cincinnati through the 1840s before relocating to Louisville, Kentucky.Michael Friesen, "A Survey of Kentucky Organbuilders," Tracker: Journal of the Organ Historical Society 37, no. 3 (1993): 13-15
The younger of the two brothers, Johann Heinrich Koehnken, had worked under Matthias Schwab at his factory in Cincinnati. He obtained ownership of Schwab's factory on Sycamore Street in 1860. Here he was assisted by Gallus Grimm and the firm became Koehnken and Grimm by 1875.Orpha Caroline Ochse The History of the Organ in the United States page 296 The two worked together for twenty-one years until Koehnken retired in 1896. In 1897, both Johann Heinrich Koehnken and Grimm died.CD157 Thom Miles at Plum Street Temple, Cincinnati Arsis Audio
The firm continued under the name of Gallus Grimm's son as Edward Grimm and Company until 1908, when it was purchased by Alfred Mathers.David Fox, Guide to North American Organbuilders (Richmond, VA: Organ Historical Society, 1991), 110, 143
Koehnken and Koehnken and Grimm Organs Source:Unless noted, the sources are "Chronological Listing of Organs Built in Cincinnati, 1808-1900," Cincinnati Historical Society Bulletin 31 (Summer 1973): 99-103 and Pipe Organ Database
Holy Trinity Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), built in 1860, lost when church was razed. St. John's Church, Newport, Kentucky, built in 1860 Union Methodist, Cincinnati, built in 1860 St. Martin Evangelical Church, Cincinnati, built in 1860 Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Dayton, Ohio, built in 1861 St. Stephen Catholic Church, Hamilton, Ohio, built in 1861 St. Paul Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, built in 1861 St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Louisville, Kentucky, built in 1861 St. Anthony Catholic Church, Cincinnati, built in 1863, rebuilt for use by Colombiere College, Clarkston, Michigan St. Henry Catholic Church, Cincinnati, built in 1863 St. Louis Catholic Church, Buffalo, New York, built in 1863 St. Mary Church, Madison, Indiana, built in 1864 German Reformed Church, Covington, Kentucky, built in 1864 Saint Francis Seraph Church, Cincinnati, built in 1864 Old St. Mary's Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), built in 1864 St. Brigid Catholic Church, Xenia, Ohio, built in 1864 St. Clement Catholic Church, St. Bernard, Ohio, built in 1864, replaced in 1871 by other Koehnken organ Salem United Church of Christ, Cincinnati, built around 1865, rebuilt by Pilcher in 1942 Isaac M. Wise Temple (formerly Plum Street Temple), Cincinnati, built in 1866 Grace United Methodist Church, Newport, Kentucky, built around 1866 St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Covington, Kentucky, built around 1868 St. Mary's Catholic Church, Chillicothe, Ohio, built around 1868 St. John's Unitarian Church, Cincinnati, built in 1868 St. Patrick Catholic Church, Covington, Kentucky, built around 1871 Calvary Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, built in 1871, rebuilt for All Saints Episcopal Church, Pleasant Ridge, Cincinnati Prince of Peace Lutheran Church/Trinity Lutheran Church, Cincinnati, built in 1871 Central Christian Church, Cincinnati, built in 1872 St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, Cincinnati, built around 1872, rebuilt by Mathers and removed 1973 St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Enochsburg, Indiana, built in 1873 St. George Catholic Church, Clifton, Cincinnati, built in 1874 First Baptist Church, Covington, Kentucky, built in 1875 Mother of God Catholic Church, Covington, Kentucky, built in 1875 St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio, built in about 1875 St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Sayler Park, Cincinnati, built around 1878 Assumption Catholic Church, Mount Healthy, Cincinnati, built in 1878 St. John's United Church of Christ, Madison, Indiana, built in 1879 "The minister, August Meuller, and a committee went to Cincinnati and bought a Koehnken & Grimm organ with a hand pump for $1,000.00; it was put in operation in 1879. It replaced a "parlor pump organ" they had purchased in 1851 for $300.00. This was more likely a small pipe organ, but of it no more is known. The Koehnken & Grimm was originally hand-pumped and later equipped with a water motor. Since the 1940s it has had an electric blower. At some point the swell shutters were relocated to the back of the swell box, and a solid plywood wall now fills the old opening, making the organ much softer than its builders intended." Organ history (Alan Miller Laufman, 1993 Organ Historical Society Handbook, Southern Indiana chapter of the American Guild Organists) First Unitarian Church, Cincinnati, built in 1879 St. John's United Church of Christ, Batesville, Indiana, built in about 1879 St. Joseph Catholic Church, Hamilton, Ohio, built in 1880 St. Xavier Catholic Church, Cincinnati, built in 1882, rebuilt by Hilgreen-Lane and removed in 1973 St. Paul Congregational Church, Cincinnati, built in 1883 St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Hillsboro, Ohio, built in 1885 Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Kenton, Ohio, built in 1887 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Sedamsville, Cincinnati, built around 1888, relocated to Holy Family Catholic Church, Price Hill, Cincinnati Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Cleveland, Ohio, built around 1890 Concordia Lutheran Church, Cincinnati, built in 1891 Asbury Third Methodist Church, Cincinnati, built around 1893, removed in 1971 Clifton Methodist Church, Cincinnati, built in 1893 Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Louisville, Kentucky, built in 1893 Holy Cross Catholic Church, Mt. Adams, Cincinnati, built in 1895, relocated to Immaculata (now called Holy Cross-Immaculata), Mt. Adams, Cincinnati, in 1973 First Presbyterian Church, Newport, Kentucky, built around 1893 St. Mary's Catholic Church, Shawnee, Ohio, built in 1895, relocated to St. John Lutheran Church, Chehalis, Washington Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Newport, Kentucky, built around 1897 Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Reading, Ohio, built around 1897 Church of the Nazarene, Delaware, Ohio Covenant-First Presbyterian, Cincinnati First Presbyterian Church, Glendale, Ohio Mount Street Temple, Cincinnati Phillipus United Church of Christ, Cincinnati St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Bridgetown, Cincinnati St. Joseph Catholic Church, Cold Spring, Kentucky St. Paul Episcopal Church, Newport, Kentucky St. Peter Reformed Church, Cincinnati Chapel of the Holy Spirit / Harcourt Parish Episcopal Church at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio University of Dayton, Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Dayton, Ohio
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