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
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Burrsville Baptist Church
Laurelton, Ocean County
Most local residents would know this building as the Orient Baptist Church, as that was its name between 1913 and sometime in the 1930s, when it became the First Baptist Church of Laurelton. But when it was built in 1857, the congregation was known as the Burrsville Baptist Church. The architect was James Dorsett. Although it adopts the recessed entry of many of the Greek Revival buildings in the state, the proportions are very different and there is, consequently, less of a Greek temple feeling to this building. For an interesting comparison, see the Presbyterian church in Trenton or the Reformed church in Griggstown.
The Greek columns are original, but the doors appear to be replacements and the building is sheathed in aluminum siding, so much of the original details have been lost. Still, it is nicely proportioned and a fine example of a mid-19th century country church in New Jersey.
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