The Belleville Dutch Reformed Church, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as Reformed Dutch Church of Second River, is a historic church located in Belleville, Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Founded as a Dutch Reformed church in 1697, it is named after the Second River, which is a tributary of the

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

. The church was rebuilt in 1725 and again in 1807. The church steeple was used as an

observation post An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Over 62 Revolutionary soldiers are buried in the adjacent graveyard. The current church building was built in 1853.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reformed Dutch Church Of Second River Belleville, New Jersey Churches in Essex County, New Jersey Dutch-American culture in New Jersey Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Presbyterian churches in New Jersey Reformed Church in America churches in New Jersey Former Dutch Reformed churches in the United States 1697 establishments in New Jersey Churches completed in 1853 19th-century Reformed Church in America church buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in New Jersey Former churches in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places

See also

References