Scotch Plains Baptist Church

The Scotch Plains Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church located at Park Avenue in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Scotch Plains Baptist Church, Parsonage, and Cemetery listing on June 14, 2013. The listing includes the nearby Old Baptist Parsonage, previously listed individually in 1973.[4]

Scotch Plains Baptist Church
Map
General information
Architectural styleGingerbread Ruskinian Gothic
Town or city333-347 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, New Jersey
CountryUnited States
Construction started1870 (for present church)[1]
Completedc.1740 (for 1st church)[1]
c.1816 (for 2nd church)[1]
1870 (for 3rd and present church)[1]
Demolished1816 (fire--1st church)[1]
ClientScotch Plains Baptist Church
Technical details
Structural systemMasonry brick with Ohio stone dressing[1]
Scotch Plains Baptist Church, Parsonage, and Cemetery
Scotch Plains Baptist Church is located in Union County, New Jersey
Scotch Plains Baptist Church
Scotch Plains Baptist Church is located in New Jersey
Scotch Plains Baptist Church
Scotch Plains Baptist Church is located in the United States
Scotch Plains Baptist Church
Coordinates40°39′9″N 74°23′59″W / 40.65250°N 74.39972°W / 40.65250; -74.39972
ArchitectThomas A. Roberts
Architectural styleLate Victorian: Gothic; Colonial: Georgian
NRHP reference No.13000386[2]
NJRHP No.5041[3]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 14, 2013
Designated NJRHPMarch 27, 2013

History

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The present church is located in an American Revolutionary War-era cemetery known as "God’s Little Acre", with Watchung Mountains-quarried brown sandstone grave markers dating back to 1742.[1] The original church dated from the early 18th century. After a fire, it was rebuilt around 1816.[1] The present church was built in 1871 in a Gingerbread Ruskinian Gothic style “made of pressed brick with Ohio stone and white brick trimmings.”[1]

Buried the church's cemetery is Caesar, who died on February 7, 1806, at 104 years of age. He was born in Africa and brought to America as a slave. He was freed from slavery in 1769. During the Revolutionary War Caesar drove a wagon and delivered supplies to the Continental troops at Blue Hills Fort and Camp.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bousquet, R; S. Bousquet (1995). Scotch Plains and Fanwood. Images of America. Dover, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-6318-8.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System – (#13000386)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Union County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. September 11, 2023. p. 12.
  4. ^ Zeoli, Vanessa; Leynes, Jennifer B. (April 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Scotch Plains Baptist Church, Parsonage and Cemetery". National Park Service. With accompanying 36 photos
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