The New Jersey Church

According to Sussex County Historian Wayne T. McCabe, the First Presbyterian Church of Sparta, incorporated in 1786, is the oldest, standing church in the county. “It has had additions, but the core of the building from 1786 still stands on Main Street in Sparta,” McCabe said. The church has been expanded, and remodeled, but that original section is still visible if you know where to look. A basement was added in 1869, and a small chancel was extended in the rear in 1924, and again in 1952. In 1961, the front of the church was extended by 26 feet, and the steeple was moved forward to accommodate the growth. Deerfield Presbyterian Church in Upper Deerfield, built circa 1771

The Deerfield Presbyterian Church in Upper Deerfield was built in 1771, and is still in use today. According to Warren Adams of the Lummis Library and Cumberland County Historical Society, it is the oldest church still in use in the county. The building is constructed of a material known as "Jersey Sandstone" — a conglomerate of sand and pebbles that are bound together with iron ore. Trinity Episcopal Old Swedes Church in Swedesboro, built circa 1783

The present-day Trinity Episcopal Old Swedes Church in Swedesboro was built in 1783 to replace the original log cabin chapel that was erected in 1703, according to the church's history. The completion of the new church brought about a new reverend and a change to the Episcopalian faith. Reverend John Croes, who also served as a private in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, later became the first Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey. The Trinity Church is believed to sit on the oldest deeded church property in Gloucester County. St. George's Episcopal Church in Pennsville, built circa 1808

The stately St. George’s Episcopal Church that stands in Pennsville today was built in 1808 to replace a log building that served as the congregation’s original meeting place, according to the church's history. The church was created in 1724, and first met at a log cabin church which reflected the name of the patron saint of England and the recently crowned King of England, George I, known as the defender of the Anglican faith. The brick church was rebuilt in 1877 and a steeple was added, creating the current Gothic style building that is still used for worship services every Sunday. The pulpit features a Carrara marble altar that was created by Thomas Jacquett and consecrated in 1902. Second Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, built circa 1820

According to the Union County Historical Society, the oldest, current church in the county is the Second Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth. It was built in 1820 and is still used as a place of worship. The oldest church organization, the First Presbyterian Church, was established in 1664. The original First Presbyterian Church was built around 1783, but was burned by the British in 1780. The church was gutted, and only the brick walls remained, but the church was restored in 1946, and has been used for services since it was rebuilt. First Presbyterian Church of Hanover in East Hanover, built circa 1835

The First Presbyterian Church of Hanover in East Hanover, Morris County, was built in 1835, according to the church's history. Wood from the former church building — which was built in 1755 near where the present chapel stands — and oak trees from the surrounding property were used to construct the current church. The original church building had once been used as a hospital during a smallpox outbreak during the Revolutionary War, and there is evidence of this in the current church. If you look closely, there are hook marks in some of the wood in the edifice that were made by the cots that once hung from that wood to hold sick patients. Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana in Paterson, built circa 1852

The Paterson church now known as The Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana on Main Street was once known as the First Presbyterian Church and was built around 1852. According to Patrick Byrnes, research specialist at the Passaic County Library and Archives, this church is the oldest church in Paterson that's still used to today. The original church — which stood in the same location — was built in 1819, but was destroyed by fire in 1850. Byrnes said work to rebuild the church began immediately and the current church was dedicated in November 1852. The Church of the Presidents in Long Branch, built circa 1879

This church is the only one in our list that is no longer used for worship, but is so unique and the history is so rich, that we just had to include it. The Church of the Presidents in Long Branch was built in 1879 as St. James Episcopal Chapel, according to the church's history. Long Branch has been a destination since the late 1700s, and attracted many well-known visitors from celebrities to heads of state. The former chapel got its name because seven Presidents of the United States came there to worship during visits to Long Branch. Chester Arthur, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson all sat in the pews at the Church of the Presidents. Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana in Paterson, built circa 1852

The Paterson church now known as The Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana on Main Street was once known as the First Presbyterian Church and was built around 1852. According to Patrick Byrnes, research specialist at the Passaic County Library and Archives, this church is the oldest church in Paterson that's still used to today. The original church — which stood in the same location — was built in 1819, but was destroyed by fire in 1850. Byrnes said work to rebuild the church began immediately and the current church was dedicated in November 1852. Dispatching a digital file to a printer for a new book is (1) the culmination of 12-16 months of work over an extended period, (2) one of the many satisfactions of being an author-publisher, and (3) the last event before the sure-to-follow bummer of discovering a typo that should have been caught. There are, of course, additional concerns about whether the book will sell enough to cover the cost of gas for the many trips to Cumberland County that were required. Whatever. The Cumberland Churchscape is now with the printer and will soon (second week in September) be available at Amazon. A sneak preview of the opening chapter is available free (228K PDF download) here.

High among the other satisfactions is discovering the identify of a hitherto unknown architect for a exceptional building. My research is generally limited to close examination of the printed literature, making inquiries of the resident minister, and sometimes looking for stylistic parallels with churches of known architects. In Cumberland that approach revealed an unusually rich architectural provenance for an early Presbyterian church. The close similarity of the Bethany Presbyterian church in Bridgeton to St. John's Episcopal church in Salem and a happy reference to an identical church in Easton, Maryland lead to information that supports a firm conclusion that Philadelphia architect William Strickland was responsible for all three. Moreover, I am convinced on the basis of plan and style that the basic plan was borrowed from Ithiel Town's Trinity Church in New Haven, Connecticut, erected some 20 years earlier. Town drew on James Gibbs' book, A Book of Architecture, who got his inspiration from All Saints, in Derby, England, a thirteen-century parish church. The English penchant for record-keeping might reveal the name of All Saints' architect, but that would be pressing our luck. The connection between medieval England and South Jersey by way of London and New Haven is a delight; an unexpected bonus from a county whose mid-nineteenth century churchscape was generally dominated by vigorous and sometimes raucous revival meetings led by unlettered exhorters who probably couldn't qualify to run for office.

That connection, in any case, is a prelude to the real matter of this month's feature, which is my inability to identify the architect for a handful of exceptional nineteenth century churches, many, as it turns out, Episcopalian. I have flipped my inadequacies as a researcher around, you may have noticed, and implied in my title is that Episcopal priests and vestries, however much they cared about Gothic arches, buttresses and fully-articulated chancels, were overly circumspect about recording the name of the architect, hence the placeholder name of John Doe for the individual whose identity in not known. That's an overbroad generalization, of course, because the work of Upjohn, Wills, Dudley, Notman and others are well known. Here I've listed several fine Episcopal churches that were certainly done by an accomplished architect whom diligent efforts have failed to identify. Maybe you can help. Today's NEW JERSEY CHURCH is made of the best of the WORLD'S LEADERSHIP and families of The Royal House of Love.