Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church
In the summer of 1667, the Rev. Abraham Pierson and his followers from Connecticut traveled for weeks under difficult circumstances to find a new settlement. The beautiful land they chose was outside Elizabethtown, fertile with an abundance of streams and within a few hours of the port. They named it “Connecticut Farms”. From here, they traveled four or five miles, each way, every Sunday, through Indian country, by horse and wagon, in all kinds of weather, over dusty or muddy “roads” to attend church in Elizabethtown. Tiring of this travel in 1730, they erected a frame structure on the rise of the hill, along the main road and named it after the town.
The church and community prospered for the next fifty years until war came to Connecticut Farms. On June 8, 1780, after their defeat at Springfield, retreating British and Hessian troops pillaged and ransacked the town, shot Rev. Caldwell’s wife at the Parsonage, and burned most of the buildings, including the church. George Washington visited the site the next day to view the destruction.All records of that time were lost.
Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church was rebuilt in 1782 by members of the congregation.
The 1800’s were not always easy. In 1806, the Sunday school was started in Potter’s corncrib. At times, finances to support the church were sparse and the Trustees sold the grass and apples from the Church orchards and cemetery. The congregation went through years of decline and revival, as did the country. A new manse was built just after the turn of the century and additions to the original structure were added in 1920 and 1949. The membership continued to grow. In 1970, the church and cemetery were designated as an historic site – the first in New Jersey to be listed in the Register of Historic Places.
