The authoritative source on
  early churches of New Jersey

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We've created a database and photographic inventory on more than half the 18th & 19th century churches in the state and add to it each month. We welcome and solicit all contributions and suggestions from our visitors.

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   Photographic Inventory

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
Bordentown, Burlington County

Thomas Paine lived in Bordentown and "his popularity as a patriot had predisposed the people to a favorable reception of his antagonisms to religion," a Philadelphia newspaper wrote of the town's reputation; "The place was remarkable for its indifference to religion, and especially for the desecration of the Sabbath.'" Methodist preachers, sensing perhaps fertile ground, made the town a regular stop on their circuit, and by 1821, a class was formally organized and a small church erected.
       By 1867 the membership had so expanded as to require a second Methodist church in town, Trinity. Their first church building was replaced by this Romanesque Revival-influenced building in 1896, almost at the center of town. The location of the tower this far to the rear is quite unusual, but by the end of the century, asymmetrical arrangements of traditional elements has become more-or-less standard for affluent congregations.

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Copyright (c) 2001 Frank L. Greenagel