New Jersey, Middlesex County, Woodbridge
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Not long after Woodbridge Township was founded in 1669, the Independent Meeting House was built nearby for nondenominational services. Records show that Anglican services were first held there in 1698. In 1710, it was announced that the Independent Meeting House would become a Presbyterian Church. Those who wished to maintain the Anglican form of worship left in protest, and decided to erect their own building at the present location of Trinity Church. Until it was completed in 1713, the home of Benjamin Dunham was used for Anglican services. At about the same time, Trinity Churchyard was first used as a burial place for the parish.
In 1756, a second building was constructed on the site, replacing the 1713 structure. One hundred and two years later, in 1858, a defective woodstove set fire to the wooden clapboard church and it burned to the ground. It was replaced by a more spacious brick building, and in 1861, the present church structure was consecrated. In 1872, the former home of Benjamin Dunham was purchased to serve as the Trinity Rectory (constructed in 1670 by Jonathan Dunham, who owned the first grist mill in New Jersey, located near to this site). Enlarged and modernized in 1872, the historic fabric of the Dunham house exterior remains.
This Historic Marker is a gift to the people of Woodbridge from the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 2009.
(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Not long after Woodbridge Township was founded in 1669, the Independent Meeting House was built nearby for nondenominational services. Records show that Anglican services were first held there in 1698. In 1710, it was announced that the Independent Meeting House would become a Presbyterian Church. Those who wished to maintain the Anglican form of worship left in protest, and decided to erect their own building at the present location of Trinity Church. Until it was completed in 1713, the home of Benjamin Dunham was used for Anglican services. At about the same time, Trinity Churchyard was first used as a burial place for the parish.
In 1756, a second building was constructed on the site, replacing the 1713 structure. One hundred and two years later, in 1858, a defective woodstove set fire to the wooden clapboard church and it burned to the ground. It was replaced by a more spacious brick building, and in 1861, the present church structure was consecrated. In 1872, the former home of Benjamin Dunham was purchased to serve as the Trinity Rectory (constructed in 1670 by Jonathan Dunham, who owned the first grist mill in New Jersey, located near to this site). Enlarged and modernized in 1872, the historic fabric of the Dunham house exterior remains.
This Historic Marker is a gift to the people of Woodbridge from the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 2009.
(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
