The Stillwater Presbyterian Church (also known as the First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater) was a congregation of the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

located in the village of Stillwater in Stillwater Township of Sussex County, New Jersey, in the

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 ...

. It was a member of the Presbytery of the Highlands. Founded in 1769 as a union church shared by members of the Reformed and Lutheran faiths, the parish, now Presbyterian, closed in 2019.

History

This congregation was formally organized in 1769 as a union church shared by the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

and

German Reformed The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A m ...

(

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

) faiths.Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen. ''The Early Germans of New Jersey: Their History, Churches, and Genealogies''. (Dover, New Jersey, Dover Printing Company, 1895), 631 ff. Construction of a stone house of worship was finished in 1771. Stillwater and the surrounding Paulins Kill valley was settled chiefly by Palatine German immigrants in the 18th century, beginning in 1741 with the arrival of

Casper Shafer Casper Shafer ( 17 December 1784) was among the first settlers of the village of Stillwater Township, New Jersey, Stillwater along the Paulins Kill in Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. A successful mille ...

, John George Wintermute, Johan Peter Bernhardt and their families.Wintermute, Jacob Perry. ''The Wintermute Family History''. (Columbus, Ohio: The Champlin Press, 1900). The first few families likely held prayer services in their homes with their neighbors. Early Stillwater families are mentioned in the records of the Dutch Reformed congregations in the Minisink Valley (along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

), and likely journeyed over Kittatinny Mountain to attend services in Walpack. As the area's population grew and the village of Stillwater developed, its Christian community was served by clergymen who travelled a circuit of churches in remote, sparsely inhabited regions. Clergymen were provided as "stated supply" by the Dutch Reformed or Calvinist

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

(or Classis) in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The congregation did not have a permanent clergyman until the 1780s. From 1769 to 1771, a church building was constructed from local

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

in the older section of

Stillwater Cemetery Stillwater Cemetery is a burial ground located in the village of Stillwater in Stillwater Township, Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. The cemetery has been in use for over 260 years. The earliest burials are recorded to have take ...

. This church, known as the ''Dutch Meeting House'', ''Reformed Association of Hardwick'', and ''Lutheran Congregation of Hardwick'', served the large

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

population that settled the Paulins Kill valley and the surrounding area in the middle of the eighteenth century. In 1823, with the area's German population either dying off, migrating to territories in the American West or assimilating into English-oriented American culture, the congregation petitioned the Presbytery of Newton to affiliate with the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

faith. By the 1830s, the stone church was beginning to become structurally unsound, and the current structure, an frame structure that is an example of

Greek Revival architecture The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

, although featuring

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

( Carpenter Gothic) windows, was erected in 1837–1838 at a cost of $2,000.First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater – Church History
(accessed 23 June 2012)Snell, James P. ''History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers''. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881) (page number) Additions to this structure, largely to support the church's "

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

" (children's Christian education) and

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

activities, were built in 1910, 1959, and 1990. It is likely the third structure used by this congregation—the first presumed to be a rudimentary log building erected circa 1745–1750 that occupied the site in the Stillwater Cemetery of the fieldstone structure which succeeded it. Local tradition asserts that the fieldstone wall of Stillwater Cemetery was built with stones from the abandoned stone structure when it was dismantled in 1847. A stone with "1771" carved into its face (likely the cornerstone from the former structure) is incorporated into the cemetery gate.

References

External links

Highlands Presbytery
(oversees Stillwater and other surrounding Presbyterian churches)

* ttp://njchurchscape.com/Stillwater-Pres.html Stillwater Presbyterian Church at New Jersey Churchscape {{Coord, 41.036506, -74.878424, region:US-NJ_type:landmark_scale:1000, display=title Churches in Sussex County, New Jersey Palatine German settlement in New Jersey Presbyterian churches in New Jersey Greek Revival church buildings in New Jersey Presbytery of Newton Stillwater Township, New Jersey 1769 establishments in New Jersey Pre-statehood history of New Jersey

History

See also

References

External links