First Presbyterian Church: First Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City
Northeast Corner of Washington and Sussex Street
Paulus Hook

In 1844, the First Presbyterian Church building was assembled in Jersey City after its removal from Wall Street in New York City. The Presbyterian congregation in Jersey City dates back to 1809. They held services at the Jersey Academy when, in 1825, they planned to found a church of their own that took many years and in a unique way.

Church leaders identified a New York brownstone church and moved it to Jersey City.  The arrangement met the needs of two congregations on either side of the Hudson River. The Presbyterian Church in New York, which dates back to 1716, wished to relocate from its property on Wall Street to a new structure on Fifth Avenue and Twelfth Street and to use the proceeds from the sale of the property, which brought $148,000, to build the new church. The Jersey City congregation desired a church. Negotiations were completed by the presidents of the two boards of trustees on July 10, 1844. The $3000 sale included "iron railing, stone wall, coping, flagging, church fixtures, stoves, cushions, lamps, chandeliers, and carpets" (Heck). Former Jersey City Mayor Dudley S. Gregory and local manufacturer David Henderson (American Pottery Company), both church trustees, assisted with the financing of the sale.

The first site in Jersey City selected to receive the building had two lots facing Sussex Street set aside for church construction by the Associates of the Jersey Company. Trustees Gregory and Henderson each donated an additional lot. Later, a decision was made to place the church building on Washington Street, on a site 100 feet by 100 feet, where Gregory and Dudley owned four lots (Nos. 41, 43, 45, and 47) adjacent to a public square. It required the exchange of the two lots (Nos. 27 and 29) on Sussex Street that the trustees also owned.

The removal of the church building took place between July and September 1844.  A Jersey City builder Richard Bumsted arranged with the local ferry company to dismantle, mark, and cart the stones. An architect and congregation member, Andrew Clark, Esq., supervised the church's reconstruction. It was to be set on a newly constructed basement, which it did not have at the New York City site. A Jersey City mason, William Bumsted, and a carpenter, John M. Trimble of New York, were hired for the project. A clock placed in the original steeple was the only alteration to the exterior of the building.

The total cost for the shipment and reconstruction of the church, excluding the basement, was $13,394. A new cornerstone was placed in the building at a September 30th, 1844, ceremony. It contained a wide-mouth jar made at the American Pottery Company owned by Henderson. The ceramic container included newspapers, periodicals, and coins. The following spring, on Sunday, May 25, 1845, the church was dedicated and officially opened to the community. According to an unpublished paper by John W. Heck, the photo prints made by Mr. W.R. Harrison "practically reproduce[s] the looks of the church as it stood on Wall Street."

The First Presbyterian Church did not last. On June 20, 1888, it was sold to George R. Mc Kenzie for $19,000. According to Heck, "the building was taken down and the 'Kingussie Flats' erected upon the site by the owner. The church members and their organization became united with the Presbyterian Church in the Bergen section of the City. . . ."

Today a vacant lot occupies the site.

Heck, John W.  "First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City," January 23, 1923, n.pag. Jersey City Free Public Library.
Imbrie,Charles K.,ed. History of the First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City, New Jersey. New York: Anson D.F. Randolph & Company, 1888.