This is a pictorial summary of the history of the Old School Baptist Church and its property. As you can see from these images of the church and grounds, the historic building and cemetery are remarkably well preserved and substantially unchanged from over a century ago.
In this view, the church faces West Broad Street, with Mercer Street to the left , Model Avenue running above, and Voorhees Avenue on the right.
(The Hopewell Train Station is in the upper right, across Greenwood Avenue.)
The Old School Baptist Church was the core of the historic settlement of Hopewell Borough in the 1700s and 1800s, as the settlement around the then Baptist Meeting House grew into a village and then into a town. The current church building was constructed in 1822 on the site of the first meeting house, which was built in 1747. The Baptist congregation itself was organized in 1715.
- For more see the History Brief on How Hopewell Became a Town (PDF)
The Church Property
The church property started with a quarter acre, and then was expanded in several steps to the current 4.4 acres. There are at least 1,600 burials in the cemetery, including 16 Revolutionary War veterans. The oldest identifiable tombstone is from 1749.
The 1875 illustration of the church property is from the Atlas Map of Mercer County by Everts & Stewart. It shows the church, the John Hart memorial, the iron fence around the property, the cemetery, and the long stables that stood outside of what was then the church property line.
The Church Building
The current two-story brick and stone church building was constructed in 1822 in a classic and stylistically austere style. It replaced the smaller original church building from 1747. Partially visible on the left in these photos is the current Hopewell House tavern building, which was built next to the church around 1775. The areas behind the taverns and the church were used for various stables and sheds during the era of horse-drawn transportation.
The 1897 photo shows the church building, with the Hopewell House tavern to the left and the John Hart memorial to the right. There is a large drop down to street level in front. [Healthy, Historic Hopewell, 1897]
The 2009 photo replicates the view from the 1897 photo. The building now has handrails on the front steps. [Roberta Mayer]
The American Revolution
The church also is historically important for its connection to the Revolutionary War.
The John Hart memorial, a 20-foot granite draped obelisk adjacent to the church, was installed in 1865 after Hart’s remains were relocated to the cemetery. Hart was a signer of The Declaration of Independence, and donated the initial property for the church. He was forced to go into hiding when the British took control of Trenton, and fell into poor health and died in 1779 at the age of about 65.
The nearby Joab Houghton / Revolutionary War memorial was installed in 1896. It is capped by a stone block, which was the steppingstone from which Houghton gave a rallying speech for independence at the close of church services on April 23, 1775, as the news of the Battle of Lexington reached Hopewell.
The c1908 undivided-back postcard shows the John Hart monument next to the church, with engraving on the sides of the base and surrounding fence.
The c1909 colorized postcard shows the Joab Houghton / Revolutionary War monument next to the John Hart monument.
Changes Over the Past Century
By 1909 the church property had expanded to its current property lines, and the building and cemetery have remained substantially unchanged since.
The c1913 colorized postcard shows both the exterior and interior of the Old School Baptist Church at the time.
- The exterior view shows grave markers on both sides behind the church, and trolley tracks in the street.
- The interior view is facing the pulpit and street, with the center pews and the balcony above.
The building exterior is well preserved. The only substantial changes are the addition of storm windows and a one-story attached mechanical room in the back.
The 1965 photo shows the church façade, with the John Hart memorial and cemetery to the right. [Bob Gantz]
The sign between the front windows reads “Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House, Organized 1715.” The smaller stone above reads “Built 1747, Rebuilt 1822.”
The building interior also is remarkably preserved and unchanged.
The sloped first floor still has a raised pulpit at the front, painted wide plank floors, and 24 rows of pews.
The second floor has a balcony along the sides and back, with 40 pews.
The furniture is retained from the early 1900s, with the original cushions stuffed with straw and cotton.
The Old School Baptist Meeting of Hopewell: New Research, Investigations, and Plans
A panel presentation on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 discussed new research on the church building and the cemetery, and plans for the future of this Hopewell institution.
- Click to view the panel presentation video on YouTube
== View the Interior photographs from 2010 in the Image Gallery ==
== View all 40+ Old School Baptist Church images in the Image Gallery ==
== View HABS information and building plan drawings from the 1936 Historic American Building Survey of the Old School Baptist Church in the Pamphlet Collection ==
== Browse Old School Baptist Church booklets in the Pamphlet Collection ==
Key References
- National Register of Historic Places Nomination (draft), Christie Alderman, 2023
- A Chronological History of the Hopewell Baptist Church and Cemetery, Richard Porter, The Hopewell Museum, 2023
- Hopewell Borough Cultural Resource Survey, N. J. Historic Preservation Office, 1985
We welcome more information and materials on the Old School Baptist Church and other local institutions.
