The Readington Reformed Church is a historic church located at 124 Readington Road,
Readington Village, an unincorporated community located within
Readington Township in
Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county,[Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...]
in the county. The current building was built in 1865. The
churchyard
In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...
is known as the Readington Reformed Church Cemetery. The church was added as a
contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
of the
Readington Village Historic District by the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on June 24, 1991.
[
]
History
The first church was organized in 1719 by a local congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church. They constructed a log church located near the confluence of the
North Branch and
South Branch into the
Raritan River
The Raritan River is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous areas in the North Jersey, northern and Central Jersey, central sections of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near ...
, about three miles east of Readington, in what is now
Branchburg in neighboring
Somerset County.
[ On February 21, 1720, Reverend ]Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen
Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (born Theodor Jakob Frelinghaus, – ) was a German-American Dutch Reformed minister, theologian and the progenitor of the Frelinghuysen family in the United States of America. Frelinghuysen is most remember ...
preached the first sermon there.
In 1738, the congregation left its original site and built its second church, a new frame building in Readington.[
Frelinghuysen was pastor until 1748 and was succeeded by his son, Reverend John Frelinghuysen.
The Reverend Johannes Arondeus served as ''Conferentie'', the pastor of the Classis ( orthodox ) Church of Amsterdam, at Readington Reformed Church from 1747 to 1754.
The Reverend ]Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (22 February 1735/6 – 30 October 1790) was an American Dutch Reformed clergyman, colonial and state legislator, and educator. Hardenbergh was a founder of Queen's College—now Rutgers, The State University of New J ...
, later the first President of Queens College (now Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
), was ordained in 1757 and served the congregation for twenty five years.[
The Reverend Peter Studdiford served from 1787 until 1826. In 1825, the congregation was large enough to form a new church at North Branch village.
Two church buildings were constructed during the pastorate of Reverend John Van Liew, who served over forty years, from 1828 until his death in 1869. The first was a new church dedicated on December 22, 1833, which burned down on March 22, 1864. The second was the construction of the current building, dedicated on July 20, 1865.
The tall church steeple was blown over by a cyclone on January 3, 1913 and replaced by shorter version. After a restoration project one hundred years later, a new steeple was dedicated on October 27, 2013.]
Notable burials
* Peter Studdiford ( – ), pastor, Readington Reformed Church and Bedminster Reformed Church
* John Van Liew ( – ), pastor, Readington Reformed Church
See also
* North Branch Reformed Church
* Readington Village Historic District
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Readington Township, New Jersey
Reformed Church in America churches in New Jersey
Churches in Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Cemeteries in Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey
National Register of Historic Places in Hunterdon County, New Jersey
1719 establishments in New Jersey
19th-century Reformed Church in America church buildings
Religious organizations established in 1719
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey