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
General information
Architectural style	Gingerbread Ruskinian Gothic
Town or city	333-347 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Country	United States
Construction started	1870 (for present church)[1]
Completed	c.1740 (for 1st church)[1] c.1816 (for 2nd church)[1] 1870 (for 3rd and present church)[1]
Demolished	1816 (fire--1st church)[1]
Client	Scotch Plains Baptist Church
Technical details
Structural system	Masonry brick with Ohio stone dressing[1]
Scotch Plains Baptist Church, Parsonage, and Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Show map of Union County, New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Show map of the United States
Coordinates	40°39′9″N 74°23′59″W
Architect	Thomas A. Roberts
Architectural style	Late Victorian: Gothic; Colonial: Georgian
NRHP reference No.	13000386[2]
NJRHP No.	5041[3]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 14, 2013
Designated NJRHP	March 27, 2013

History

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

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, New Jersey

References

1. 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

External links

• Official website