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Church History
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The seeds of Presbyterianism in the Bass River area were sown by the tireless efforts of circuit riders, missionary preachers who would ride a horse over large distances with little other than their bibles and the clothes on their backs in order to preach the gospel to small groups scattered throughout the barren stretches of South Jersey. John Brainerd, the brother of David Brainerd who served the Lord through his missionary work with the Indians, visited Bass River prior to the Revolutionary War. He was warmly welcomed by John Leek and Charles Loveland who were baptized into the Presbyterian faith prior to their coming to Wading River and gladly opened their homes for Brainerd to preach.
Brainerd kept a journal and spoke of trips to Wading River on April 17th and in November of 1761 but is not specific as to the exact location of his preaching nor as to the size of the meetings other than to say that he “ preached at Wading River” and “ preached a Lecture to a considerable congregation.” In a June 21st 1761 letter, he hands over his “shore” circuit to a young Enoch Green and mentions the homes of Charles Loveland and John Leek at Wading River as stops on the circuit which ran from Toms River southward to Cape May. This letter tells us that there was not a church building in 1761 since Brainerd preached in the Leek or Loveland home.
We do not know exactly when the first Presbyterian church building in Bass River was erected. John Leek, a man of means who built and owned the Leek Wharf near the present day Wading River Bridge, mentions a Presbyterian church in his will, dated August 26th 1777. He leaves to the “ ... inhabitants of Wading River and Bass River ... sixty-five perches [.41 acres] of land and meeting house and burial ground for the use of a Meeting House for Presbyterians to carry on the worship of God.” So, if the church didn’t exist in 1761 when Brainerd was preaching in the Leek and Loveland homes, and it existed in 1777 as stated in Leek’s will, then we can say that it was built sometime in the 16 year period between 1761 and 1777. It was likely a small, crude log structure built closer to 1761 than to 1777, as it is doubtful that the Leek family would have undertaken the construction of a church in the uncertain times leading up to the American Revolution. No one is alive today who remembers the old foundation, and there is no physical evidence of the exact location of the church. However, we know that it was located along the present day Hammonton Road adjacent to the cemetery we now call the French Cemetery which sits beside the Ives Branch of the Wading River.
We know little about this early Presbyterian church as there are no surviving records. It is likely that its membership was small and that it was abandoned shortly after the close of the American Revolution. The cemetery, however, continued to be used long after the church disappeared.
The present Presbyterian Church building on North Maple Avenue resulted from the missionary work of Allen H. Brown and Samuel Miller, Presbyterian missionaries inspired by the work of Brainerd, who visited the area in the late 1840’s and encouraged the development of the church. Joseph Baker Cramer donated land for the church in 1850, and the building was erected in 1851 under the leadership of Francis French. The building was dedicated on August 24, 1851 . It is the anniversary of this building dedication that we are celebrating today.
The church operated for nearly a decade before Reverends Brown and Miller, on February 24, 1861, formally organized the church with 8 members from the Tuckerton church. Incorporation papers were recorded on December 11th of that year in the Burlington County Clerk’s Office in Mt. Holly under the name of the Presbyterian Church of Bass River. Maja B. Mathis, Joseph Allen, Z.M.P. Mathis, Levi French, and Charles Adams signed as trustees with Rev. Miller acting as witness. The name was changed to the Presbyterian Church of New Gretna on May 9, 1888 with the filing of additional incorporation papers.
The earliest existing church membership records show the following members in 1864: Mr. & Mrs. Maja Mathis, Mrs. Ann French, Mrs. Ellen Adams, Mrs. Sarah Darby, Mrs. Josephine Mathis, Mr. and Mrs. Zadok Cramer, Mrs. Mary Adams, Miss Maggie Adams, Mrs. Julia French, Mrs. Joseph Allen, Mr. Samuel Williams, and Miss Eliza Thomas. Zadox Cramer and his wife are noted as being two of the eight charter members. The other six are not identified.
The church grew steadily and by the turn of the century showed a membership of 79 and a Sunday School enrollment of 155. Its members became influential in all aspects of community life, playing a dominant role in the development of the community well into the middle of the 20th century.
Today the building looks much different than the original structure with several changes and additions; including a Sunday School addition in 1910 which is the present kitchen, the installation of stained glass windows in 1928, an Education Annex in 1964 now used as a Fellowship Hall, and the installation of asbestos siding in 1950. The Education Annex produced the most dramatic change in the appearance of the church as the stained glass windows on the north wall were moved and incorporated into the addition, and its flat roof drastically altered the appearance of the church.
The manse was built just south of the church in 1889 with the assumption of a $1,000 mortgage from Thomas Jefferson Gaskill. The carpenters were Charles Loveland and John A. Cramer. Its first occupants were the young Rev. S.G. Webb and his new bride. A single sentence found in the 10/10/1896 edition of the Mt. Holly Herald announces the retirement of the mortgage: There was a time of rejoicing at the Presbyterian parsonage Saturday evening, when a $1000 mortgage was burned.
The Presbyterian Church has played an important role in the history of Bass River Township and the spiritual development of its people since before the Revolutionary War. We are encouraged today as the Holy Spirit continues to water the seeds planted by His servant, John Brainerd. May much fruit be born as we move foward into this 21st century.
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