Rutgers ca. 1850
The name of the college was changed to Rutgers from Queens College. Rutgers was a RevWar veteran.
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Posted on 04/04/2011 5:53:00 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Music of the 17th and 18th century's High Baroque era echoed through the First Reformed Church of New Brunswick, Saturday night, in efforts to raise money for the historic preservation and restoration of the church's grounds and building.
The church, located on the corner of Neilson and Bayard Streets, featured musical performances by La Fiocca, a classical music ensemble based out of Bucks County, Pa. and other secular and sacred chamber musical performances.
First organized in 1717, the First Reformed Church lost several large parts of the property due to disrepair and faces several structural problems such as masonry walls that are no longer stable, leaking roofs and pieces of shale and trim that have fallen from its steeple, said Ellen Hamilton, church elder and member of the Fundraising Committee for the preservation project. Also known as the "Town Clock Church," as it currently houses the city's official town clock in its steeple, the church experienced multiple structural distresses including a 1971 fire, which destroyed all but two of the church's stained glass windows, Hamilton said.
The New Jersey Historic Trust gave a $50,000 planning grant in 2008 to begin planning for a historic preservation project and an additional grant from the state for $487,797 to restore the building's steeple and repair the education building's roof, Hamilton said. The congregation of 200 people raised more than 60 percent of the matching funds for the grant but has been unable to completely pay it back, Hamilton said. Hartmut Kramer-Mills, a pastor of the congregation, said the church continues to thrive despite the setbacks, and the benefit concert and the money raised is a reflection of that.
"This is not just about baroque music," Kramer-Mills said. "This is also about the encounter with another culture, another time and dealing with otherness. Those are themes our church stands for in the midst of this ever diverse community."
Home of the longest running Sunday school in the United States, an interfaith shelter for homeless men during the winter and House of Manna, which serves meals to needy families, Benjamin Berman, music director for the church said the church is still very much alive.
"Around the Revolutionary War, the denomination of the Dutch Reformed Church split and the Reformed Church of America was established here by John Henry Livingston, who was the president of Queen's College at the time," Berman said.
The denomination's organization, as well as the founding of the church on Neilson and Bayard Streets can be traced back to the early Dutch settlers of the 17th century, whose influences shaped much of the region along the Banks of the Raritan, he said.
A two-year period during the Revolutionary War subjected the church and the surrounding area to abuse by British troops who occupied the town, where they used the 1767 building as a hospital and later a stable, Hamilton said.
The building's walls are composed of brownstone transported up the Raritan River from New York City in the late 17th century, and the church's cemetery remains the resting place of such influential figures as Theodorus Frelinghuysen, Jacob Hardenbergh, Livingston and James Suydam, along with soldiers of the Revolutionary War, she said.
Berman said not only does the church stand as a testament to the state's and the city of New Brunswick's histories — it also represents a major part of the University's history and founding in the late 17th century.
Queen's College, which eventually became Rutgers College and University, was chartered in 1766 through several years of effort by Frelinghuysen, the first pastor, and Hardenbergh, who served both as a pastor for the church and as the first president the college, Berman said. "[The church] served for several presidential periods as something like a university church," Kramer-Mills said. "Commencements would be held there and the senior pastor would at the same time be president of the church."
The preceding structure was torn down in 1811 and a newer, more accommodating building was erected in its place, which still stands at its present location, Hamilton said.
Kramer-Mills said the church has become a spiritual home and hosts the oldest congregation of the First Reformed Church in the United States, which still remains strong today.
"This is a place where people can have a spiritual home," he said. "There are presidents of Rutgers University buried right here in our backyard."
The name of the college was changed to Rutgers from Queens College. Rutgers was a RevWar veteran.
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I posted a picture of the church, but now I’m not seeing it. I noticed it’s on Bayard St. My daughter happens to live on Bayard St. in PA.
Excellent! Thanks, Joe, for once again adding to our threads.
They have their good days...and their very very bad days!!
Kings College in New York was changed for the same reason. It was changed to Columbia.
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