Stelton Baptist Church, Edison

The Stelton Baptist Church is in the Stelton section of Edison, New Jersey. It is the second oldest Baptist Church in New Jersey and the tenth oldest in the United States.[1][2][3]

Stelton Baptist Church in 2019

History
Stelton Baptist Church cemetery

The congregation was formed in the spring of 1689, and among its original members was the Stelle family, after whom the Stelton section of Edison, New Jersey is named. Up until 1875 the church was known as the First Baptist Church of Piscataway.[4] The land occupied by the church and cemetery at Stelton was purchased in April 1731. The first church was erected in 1748, and that building was taken down and rebuilt in 1825. This building was destroyed by a fire on New Year's Day, January 1, 1851.[5] In 1870 portions of Piscataway, New Jersey and Woodbridge, New Jersey were used to form Raritan, New Jersey. The site of the church later became Edison, New Jersey.[2][3] The building which took its place was destroyed in a fire in 1924. The present building was erected in 1925.[3] The cemetery contains hundreds of early burials, including Andrew Drake.[6] The first female pastor of the congregation, the Rev. Kathleen Tice, was installed in 1999. After 10 years of service at the congregation, Pastor Tice retired during the summer of 2010.

References
  1. Jorgensen, Charles W. (1964). History of the Stelton Baptist Church. Stelton Baptist Church.
  2. Wall, John P. (1921). History of Middlesex County, New Jersey.
  3. "Stelton Baptist Church". Edison, New Jersey. Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-26. The Stelton Baptist Church is the second oldest Baptist Church in New Jersey and the 10th oldest in the nation. Stelton Baptist Church was formed in the spring of 1689, and among its original members was the Stelle family, after whom the Stelton section of Edison is named. Through 1875, however, the church was known as the First Baptist Church of Piscataway. Present-day congregants celebrated the tercentennial of their church in a year-long celebration in 1989. The land now occupied by the church and burial ground at Stelton was purchased in April 1731, and a house of worship erected there in 1748. This building was taken down and rebuilt in 1825, but was destroyed by fire January 1, 1851. The building which took its place, also burned in 1924, and the present church was erected in 1925. In 1870 the incorporation of parts of Piscataway and Woodbridge Townships to form Raritan Township, placed the church in the latter municipality, which became Edison.
  4. Weir, David A. (2005). Early New England: A Covenanted Society. ISBN 0-8028-1352-6.
  5. Spies, Stacy E. (2001). Edison. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-0549-8.
  6. Sarapin, Janice Kohl (2002). Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2111-4.


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