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"Old First" Presbyterian Church on the Green The First Presbyterian Church of Bloomfield was the first church within the present-day boundaries of Bloomfield. The church, today named First Presbyterian Chruch on the Green, not only established one of the religious mainstays of the fledgling town; it also played a major part in political development, and served as the social and cultural nucleus for its congregation. [Painting], about 1810, the earliest known image of Bloomfield. The late-1860s photograph below shows that this was a remarkably accurate image of the church when it was recently completed. Little is known about the hotel-like structure on the right. [Fifteen] area residents, primarily members of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark and Second Presbyterian Church of Newark (now Orange) successfully petitioned the New York Presbytery in 1794 to form a church called the [Presbyterian Society of Bloomfield]. ________ donated __ acres of land in 17__, and construction began in 1797. The first services were held in the partially constructed church building as early as 1799. Other venues for early services prior to the church's completion were held at the Watsessing Hill School and at the Joseph Davis homestead at 409 Franklin Street. [Carcoal?] drawing, about 1840. The steeple is inaccurately drawn, as shown in the circa-1810 and late-1860s pictures. Building to the church's immediate left is probably the Bradbury-Baldwin house, still standing at 323 Belleville Avenue. Early church records offer a snapshot of the role the church played in the fledgling community. For example, in 18__, parishoner _________ was accused of infidelity to his wife. The church [committee] reviewed the evidence and barred him from participating in church functions. Such action could effectively make a member an outcast in the remote community, and the ability to effect such action gave the church significant influence on the behavior of the constituency. Wood carving about 1845. Some of the hitching posts (which also served as bollards to control wagon traffic) shown in the foregrounds survived until the 1970s. The partial building at far right is the Caleb Davis house, which became the manse for the church minister in 19__. 1856 This image, the focal point of a 1870-era photo of the Green, is the earliest known photograph of the church. The original spire and bollards are visible. Winter photo about 1933. The Parish House, adjacent to the church, was built in 1840 and was used as a public meeting place and town hall before the Municipal Building was built in 1927. It may have been designed by noted Bloomfield architect Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892). The original spire was replaced with the larger current superstructure in 1898. Photo about 1936. [add pic BR47] The design of this church is very similar to the First Presbyterian Church at 820 Broad Street in Newark, NJ, which preceded this structure by about ten years. Despite the buildings' similarities, the Historic American Buildins Survey identified Samuel Lawrence Ward as the architect for the Bloomfield church, and ___________ as architect of its Newark counterpart. Construction, supervised by Joshua James, was completed in 1819. The northern (left-most) 15 feet of the main building, including the left-most pair of windows in the above picture, were added in 1853 to accomodate the new [chancel] (see next picture). In 1883, the addition at the far left edge of this photo was added for a church school.  The date stone above the door reads, ["Bloomfield 1796"]. The master mason for the project was Revolutionary War veteran Aury King (known as Arie Koningh in Dutch). Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Cadmus (1734-____) is said to have placed a silver dollar in the mortar of the cornerstone at its dedication. This 1936 view of the church interior has changed little in the church's two centuries of existence, [Add history of stained glass windows.] The church was erected at the head of the town Green. The Parish House (detailed picture above) can be seen to the right of the church.The residence partially shown at the far right of this circa-1910 picture, became the minister's manse in 19__. Prior to modern techniques, the church bell was used as a mass-communication tool. Musical chimes, still in use today, were added in ____. The roof of the new spire, built 1898, was originally copper, which oxidized to a green color. The wooden superstructure of the spire and clock face were painted white, and the roof surfaced with gold ______ in 19__. In ____, the clock face was made black [Chancel], constructed 1853, photographed 1936. The organ was installed in 1911 by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, CT as their opus 347 (347th unit). It was moved to the rear gallery (opposite/south end of the church) by the Church Organ Company of Edison, NJ in early 1970. Views of the [chancel]: 19__; 19__; about 1970; 1972, respectively. Some of the above photographs were taken as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey and/or the Historic American Engineering Record, projects of the US National Park Service. More detailed information from this survey, as well as higher resolution images of the above pictures, can be found at the Library of Congress. Note that the survey incorrectly states that building began in 1696; the correct year was 1797, according to ________________. Also, the survey incorrectly states the chief mason's surname as Ward; it was King. |
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