The congregation continues to hold Sunday worship in this historic building during the summer season, beginning each year in June and continuing until the Sunday before Labor Day.
This old edifice is the second of four Presbyterian Church buildings erected in Newtown. The first was built in 1734, and William Tennent, our first minister, preached there one Sunday a month. The first pastor to be installed in Newtown took office in 1752. Erected in 1769, remodeled in 1842, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in July of 1987, we are assured that the exterior of this stately old church will remain as you see it today. In December of 1776, because it was one of the largest buildings in town, General Washington commandeered it and used it as a hospital, a jail and a P.O.W. “camp.” After the Battle of Trenton, several hundred Hessians were held there before they began their long march to Philadelphia where they would be exchanged for American soldiers.
The small building on the south side of the church is the Session House. It was built about 1798, used as a meeting place for the session, and is one of only two such buildings in the county still standing. Because most early session members were farmers and did not get to town except on Sunday, a quiet place was needed to conduct church business.
In back of the church is a cemetery. As you stroll through it, you may be surprised to find eight British flags–marking the graves of men who fought in the French and Indian Wars. There are twenty-eight flags flying over the graves of church members who followed General Washington in the Revolutionary War. In the back, just in front of the wall, is the grave of a man who stood for the Union during the Civil War.
Newtown Presbyterian Church’s history is preserved by the Historic Church Committee. The Historic Church Committee is an ad-hoc committee of the Board of Trustees. Members share a fondness and special interest in our Historic Church on Sycamore Street, and work with other church members to raise funds for the preservation of the historic facilities and surrounding grounds. Fund-raising projects include the Strawberry Festival in June, a fall spaghetti dinner, a chili luncheon and Christmas ornmament sale in December, and a take-out soup sale in the winter.
Attention: History Buffs and Docents
Under the sponsorship of the Historic Church Committee, classes for those interested in the history of the Newtown Presbyterian Church and those interested in being tour guides, will be held on Sunday afternoons June 10 and 17 at 1:00 P.M. in the Historic Church.
The classes, dealing with the church history, will be led by Jean Torongo and Karen Dorward will give the history of the church cemetery and the gardens.
All are welcome. It is hoped we will have enough people interested in being guides that we will be able to have the church open to the public on Sunday afternoons during July and August.