St. George's Anglican Church (Helmetta, New Jersey) Explained

St. George's Anglican Church
Denomination:Anglican Church in North America
Diocese:Living Word
Founder:George Washington Helme
Style:Queen Anne
Shingle style
Years Built:1894
Rector:The Rev. Marc Steele
Deacon:The Rev. Greg Ventura
Location:Helmetta, New Jersey
Country:United States
Embedded:
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St. George's Church
Nrhp Type:cp
Nocat:yes
Added:August 15, 1980
Partof Refnum:80002503

St. George's Anglican Church is a historic Anglican parish in Helmetta, New Jersey. Built as St. George's Episcopal Church to serve families residing in the company town for George Washington Helme's snuff mill, the congregation left the Episcopal Church in 2010 and joined the Anglican Church in North America.

History

Before his death in 1893, Helme planned the church for mill workers residing in Helmetta. Architect William Horatio Day designed the church, parsonage and lych gate in a Queen Anne Gothic style.[1] The church was built by Helme's family and heirs in 1894.[2]

A stone parish hall was added in the 1960s.

In 2010, as part of the broader Anglican realignment in North America, St. George's agreed to pay a settlement to the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey to leave the Episcopal Church with its property. The church joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, affiliated with the Church of Nigeria, and the Diocese of CANA East, which eventually became the Diocese of the Living Word.[3]

Architecture

The G. W. Helme Snuff Mill District is a classic example of a late 1800s mill town. St. George's is today a contributing property to the historic district, which was named to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1980,[4] and to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, New Jersey, on August 15, 1980.

The NRHP nomination for the district describes St. George's exterior as a "somewhat awkward, idiosyncratic variation on Queen Anne gothic," with stone gable-end walls, shingled side walls, a stone side tower and lancet arch windows.

External links

40.3775°N -74.4207°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Jersey SP Helme, G. W., Snuff Mill District . National Archives Catalog . Department of the Interior. National Park Service. . 26 September 2022.
  2. Web site: Our History . St. George's Anglican Church . 26 September 2022.
  3. News: Virtue . David . HELMETTA, NJ: New Precedent Set in Episcopal Church Property Settlement Wars . 26 September 2022 . Virtue Online . 23 December 2010.
  4. https://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists/Middlesex.pdf New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in Middlesex County