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Presbyterian Church of Woodbury, NJHistoryOur Presbyterian PastIn 1721, ten families gathered together to form the Presbyterian Chruch at Woodbury. One of the members, John Tatem, provided land for a meeting house and a burying ground, and a small log church was built upon the site.The first permanent minister was the Reverend Benjamin Chestnutt, who was ordained in the log church in September, 1751. He also served a sister congregation "at the end of Timber Creek," which today is Blackwood. The union between the two congregations lasted many years. During the Revolutionary War, the British occupied Woodbury in November of 1777, taking over the church for use as a commissary. After the war, the congregation refused to worship in the log meeting house, claiming it was "haunted." The church building was abandoned and eventually torn down in 1804. Permission was recieved to use the Academy, a private school on Broad Street, for worship.. No doubt this came about because the Reverend Andrew Hunter, who also served as a trustee and teacher in the Academy. During the early years of the late as 1824, the possibility of disbanding and uniting with the Episcopal Church of Clarksboro was seriously considered. One bright spot in that low period was the dedicated conviction of one of its female members. In 1827, Miss Maria Ogden, at age thirty-five, left Woodbury to serve as a missionary in the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). For a woman alone, with no family, this was a radical and daring undertaking. Miss Ogden persisted, laboring in the Pacific for forty-six years, dying in Honolulu at the age of eighty-two. In 1834, conditions had improved under the pastorate of the Reverend Charles Williamson, and a new brick church was erected on Broad Street, opposite the Academy. Twelve years later, the congregations 125th anniversary year, the building was still a source of pride. Unfortunately, any planned festivities were cut short when a theif broke into the church, and stole the pulpit Bible and "two peices of carpet." The stolen items were never recovered. By 1906, a major building renovation was underway. The old brick facade was with a heavy stone facing, a tower was built for the bell (which had been housed in the Academy School), and an organ was installed. Twenty-five years later, the education wing was added to the west side of the church. In 1965, it was decided to restore the church to it's original 1834 red brick architecture. a cupola was added, and the 18th century bell was installed. It has been calling members to worship ever since. 250 years of Presbyterianism in Woodbury were celebrated on the very spot where it all began the old burying ground on North Broad Street. The congregation celebrated communion on the site in August, 1971. On February 12, 1989, the Reverend Andrew T. Barton was installed, and a new era in the life of the Presbyterian Church at Woodbury began. The current membership is over 800, and the Church School serves some 150 children and adults. May our congregation continue to serve and proclaim our Lord for another 272 years. Amen. Originally written and adapted from Edith Hoelle, Church Historian
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