Stillwater Presbyterian Church (Stillwater, New Jersey)
Encyclopedia
The Stillwater Presbyterian Church (also known as the First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater) is a house of worship affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA)
located in the village of Stillwater in Stillwater Township
, in the County of Sussex
, New Jersey
(USA). Organized in 1769 as union church between the Lutheran and German Reformed (Calvinist
) faiths, this church, known as the Lutheran Congregation of Hardwick, served the early Palatine Germans
who 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 had affiliated with the Presbyterian
faith.
The current structure, an example of Greek Revival architecture, was erected in 1837, replacing a fieldstone
church building (built circa 1769–1771) located in the Stillwater Cemetery, one half mile south of the village. 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.
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
located in the village of Stillwater in Stillwater Township
Stillwater Township, New Jersey
- History timeline :*1741, Casper Shafer built the Stillwater gristmill about half a mile from the present mill site.*1764, the Stillwater gristmill was moved to its present location and commercially operated there until 1955...
, in the County of Sussex
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(USA). Organized in 1769 as union church between the Lutheran and German Reformed (Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
) faiths, this church, known as the Lutheran Congregation of Hardwick, served the early Palatine Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
who settled the Paulins Kill
Paulins Kill
The Paulins Kill is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States...
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 had affiliated with the Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
faith.
The current structure, an example of Greek Revival architecture, was erected in 1837, replacing a fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
church building (built circa 1769–1771) located in the Stillwater Cemetery, one half mile south of the village. 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.
See also
- Harmony Hill Methodist Church (Stillwater, New Jersey)Harmony Hill Methodist Church (Stillwater, New Jersey)Harmony Hill Methodist Church is a Methodist Episcopal house of worship affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located about one mile north of the village of Stillwater in Stillwater Township, in the County of Sussex, New Jersey, United States....
- History of New JerseyHistory of New JerseyThe history of New Jersey began at the end of the Younger Dryas climate, about 10 millennia ago. Native Americans moved into New Jersey soon after the reversal of the Younger Dryas, which had made the area uninhabitable and, during the preceding ice age, unreachable.European contact began with the...
- Paulins KillPaulins KillThe Paulins Kill is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States...
- Stillwater Cemetery (Stillwater, New Jersey)
- Stillwater Township, New JerseyStillwater Township, New Jersey- History timeline :*1741, Casper Shafer built the Stillwater gristmill about half a mile from the present mill site.*1764, the Stillwater gristmill was moved to its present location and commercially operated there until 1955...
- Sussex County, New JerseySussex County, New JerseyThe County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
Books and printed materials
- Armstrong, William C. Pioneer Families of Northwestern New Jersey. (Lambertville, New Jersey: Hunterdon House, 1979). NO ISBN (Privately published).
- Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen. The Early Germans of New Jersey: Their History, Churches, and Genealogies. (Dover, New Jersey, Dover Printing Company, 1895). NO ISBN (pre-1964).
- Schaeffer, Casper M.D. (and Johnson, William M.). Memoirs and Reminiscences: Together with Sketches of the Early History of Sussex County, New Jersey. (Hackensack, New Jersey: Privately Printed, 1907). NO ISBN (pre-1964).
- 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). NO ISBN (pre-1964).
- Stickney, Charles E. Old Sussex County families of the Minisink Region. from articles in the Wantage Recorder (compiled by Virginia Alleman Brown) (Washington, New Jersey: Genealogical Researchers, 1988). NO. ISBN (Privately printed).
External links
- Presbytery of Newton (oversees Stillwater and other surrounding Presbyterian churches)
- Baptisms at the Stillwater Presbyterian Church (roughly 1780-1825)
- Stillwater Presbyterian Church at New Jersey Churchscape