First Dutch Reformed Church, Hackensack Explained

First Dutch Reformed Church, Hackensack
Nrhp Type:	hd
Location:	42 Court Street, Hackensack, New Jersey
Coordinates:	40.8792°N -74.0428°W
Nocat:	yes
Built:	1791
Architecture:	Wrenn-Gibbs type
Added:	June 9, 1983
Refnum:	83001546
Designated Other1 Name:	New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Designated Other1 Abbr:	NJRHP
Designated Other1 Link:	New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Designated Other1 Date:	April 8, 1983
Designated Other1 Number:	523^[1]
Designated Other1 Num Position:	bottom
Designated Other1 Color:	ffc94b

First Dutch Reformed Church, also known as the "Old Church on the Green", is located in Hackensack, New Jersey.

History

It sits in the churchyard of the church by the same name, the current building being constructed in 1791. The east wall of the building is of particular interest because it incorporates several carved stones from the first church building erected on the site. These stones bear the monogram of several of the founding families. The congregation was founded by Dutch settlers in 1686. For the first ten years the congregation worshipped in various locations, and in 1696 the first building was built on the current site. In 1780 Colonial General Enoch Poor was buried in the Cemetery. George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette attended the funeral.^[2] The church is the oldest extant church in Bergen County.^{[3] [4] [5]}

The church is adjacent to the Hackensack Green, which was originally church land and is one of the oldest public squares in New Jersey.^[6]

Notable burials

• Adam Boyd (1746–1835) represented New Jersey in Congress from 1803 to 1805, and again from 1808 to 1813.^[7]
• George Cassedy (1783–1842), represented New Jersey in Congress from 1821 to 1827.^[8]
• Enoch Poor (1736–1780), one of George Washington’s officers.^[9]
• Richard Varick (1753–1831), former mayor of the city of New York and former New York Attorney General^[10]

See also

• Bergen County Cemeteries

External links

• Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery, The Political Graveyard
• First Dutch Reformed Churchyard, Find a Grave

Notes and References

1. Web site: New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Bergen County . New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office . 19 . July 7, 2009 . February 25, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081030005640/http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/1identify/lists/bergen.pdf . October 30, 2008 .
2. http://www.njchurchscape.com/Hackensack%20First%20Reformed.html Photographic Inventory: Hackensack First Reformed Church
3. Web site: First Reformed . New Jersey Churchscape . 2010-09-05 .
4. Book: Sarapin, Janice Kohl . Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey . 2002 . . 0813521114 .
5. News: Two Hundred Years Old. The Church Built By The Dutch Settlers In Hackensack Valley . . September 24, 1886.
6. Book: Chiat, Marilyn Joyce Segal . America's religious architecture: sacred places for every community, Preservation Press Series . John Wiley and Sons . 1997 . 465 [83]. 978-0471145028.
7. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000714 Adam Boyd
8. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000234 George Cassedy
9. http://hackensackhigh.org/~rkc/hackensack/poor/poor.html Enoch Poor burial site
10. http://hackensackhigh.org/~rkc/hackensack/varick/varick.html Col. Richard Varick burial site