Cold Spring Presbyterian Church

Cold Spring Presbyterian Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Cold Spring, New Jersey
Coordinates	38°58′35.26″N 74°54′59.11″W
Built	1823
Architect	Thomas Hurst Hughes
Architectural style	Federal
NRHP reference No.	91000785
Added to NRHP	June 14, 1991

The Cold Spring Presbyterian Church, located on Seashore Road in the Cold Spring section of Cape May, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, is a historic two-story church on the National Register of Historic Places. The current church building, known as "Old Brick", was constructed in 1823 by Thomas H. Hughes, who was also the architect of Congress Hall in Cape May, New Jersey. This red brick building replaced a frame and shingle church erected in 1764, which itself replaced a 1714 log meetinghouse. The church's cemetery is the site of a 1742 grave (that of Sarah Eldridge Spicer) and of the most Mayflower descendants anywhere outside Massachusetts.

History

The congregation was founded in 1714, following the settlement of the area by Connecticut Presbyterians. The first regular pastor was the Rev. John Bradner, who served from 1715 until 1721, when he moved to Goshen in Orange County, New York. The Rev. Hughston Hughes served as pastor for one year, starting in 1726, before being dismissed for "his too free use of intoxicating drinks."

The Rev. Samuel Finley served as pastor for several years. Finley, who was a graduate of the Log College, later became president of the College of New Jersey, the predecessor of Princeton University. Another Log College graduate, the Rev. Daniel Lawrence, served as pastor from 1752 until his death in 1766. His tombstone in the adjacent graveyard was inscribed

In yonder sacred house I spent my breath,
Now, silent, mouldering here I lie in death,
Those silent lips shall wake and yet declare,
A dread amen to truths they publish there

The two hundredth anniversary of the church was celebrated on August 16, 1914. John Wanamaker, who attended when a child, contributed generously to the endowment fund. President Woodrow Wilson sent a congratulatory letter.

• 
  View from the southeast
• 
  On a pre-1923 postcard
• 
  View from the southwest. Note that the rear section was added since the postcard picture
• 
  Gravestone of Memucan Hughes, II (1857)

Burials in the cemetery

• T. Millet Hand (1902–1956), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1945–1957.
• J. Thompson Baker (1847–1919), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1913–1915.
• Thomas H. Hughes (1769–1839), represented New Jersey's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1829–1833.
• Charles W. Sandman, Jr. (1921–1985), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1913–1915.
• Edgar Page Stites (1836–1921), Hymn Writer.
• Lieutenant Richard Wickes (died June 29, 1776) American Revolutionary War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet.

See also

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

External links

• "Cold Spring Presbyterian Church". Cold Spring Presbyterian Church.
• Cape May Times Article
• Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery at The Political Graveyard
• Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery at Find A Grave