First Presbyterian Church (Newton, New Jersey)

The First Presbyterian Church of Newton (or Newton Presbyterian Church) is a Christian house of worship affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in the Town of Newton in Sussex County, New Jersey. This congregation, established in the 1780s, is overseen by the Presbytery of Newton.[1]

First Presbyterian Church of Newton
Built 1869–1872, the church building is the third to house the congregation
41°03′28.0″N 74°45′17.0″W
Location54 High Street
Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey
CountryUnited States
DenominationPresbyterian Church (USA)
Websitefpcnewtonnj.org
History
StatusChurch
Founded1786 (1786)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
StyleItalianate and Renaissance Revival
Groundbreaking1869
Completed1872
Administration
PresbyteryPresbytery of Newton
Clergy
Pastor(s)The Rev. David E. Young

The first church building was erected in the 1786 at the time Rev. Ira Condit, a 1784 graduate of Princeton University was installed as the congregation's first pastor. This first edifice was razed for a larger, second building at the site, erected 1828-1829. The third and present edifice was built in 1869–1872 of native blue limestone and described as being "plain but beautiful...in its simple style of architecture."[2][3] While described as simple, the building is a combination of architectural styles that is chiefly Italianate and Renaissance Revival architecture but incorporates elements associated with the Classical Revival and Romanesque Revival styles.[3] The church was damaged in an 1893 fire, and restored with funds from parishioners, including Newton industrialist Henry W. Merriam (1828–1900). At this time, Merriam donated several stained glass windows, including one over the altar depicting Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

On 26 October 1979, the First Presbyterian Church of Newton was placed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.[4][5] It is also included as part of the Newton Town Plot Historic District which was approved and entered on the National Register of Historic Places on 12 November 1992.[3]

The current pastor (2013–present) of the First Presbyterian Church of Newton is the Rev. David E. Young. Ordained in 1987, he is a graduate of The College of Wooster; University of Maryland, College Park; and Princeton Theological Seminary, and has served Presbyterian congregations in Stillwater, New Jersey; Fargo, North Dakota; Midland, Minnesota; and New Albany, Indiana, before accepting a pastoral call to Newton.[6]

See also

References
  1. Presbytery of Newton. "The Presbytery of Newton Encompasses Churches in Four Counties of New Jersey". Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  2. New Jersey Herald (26 August 1869).
  3. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Newton Town Plot Historic District (filed 1 October 1992, approved 12 November 1992), Section 7, pages 34-40. NRIS Reference Number 92001521. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  4. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Historic Preservation Office. New Jersey Register of Historic Places-Sussex County Archived 2015-01-22 at the Wayback Machine. SHPO ID#2611. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. Harold E. Pellow & Associates, Inc. Town of Newton Master Plan August 2008 (professional paper/public document), 66, 69. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. First Presbyterian Church of Newton, Rev. David Young Archived 2014-03-13 at the Wayback Machine (2013). Retrieved 12 March 2014.
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