Manahawkin Baptist Church

Manahawkin Baptist Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	N. Main St. (US 9) and Lehigh Avenue, Manahawkin, New Jersey
Coordinates	39°41′55.1″N 74°15′27.5″W / 39.698639°N 74.257639°WCoordinates: 39°41′55.1″N 74°15′27.5″W / 39.698639°N 74.257639°W
Area	1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built	1864
NRHP Reference #	73001131[1]
Added to NRHP	April 3, 1973

Manahawkin Baptist Church, also known as Free Church of Manahawkin, is a historic church in Manahawkin section of Stafford Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States.

The deed for the first church was dated August 24, 1758, but according to the early settlers of the region, there was a house of worship being used as early as 1745. A building was erected at this time and a tract of land given as a gift of the John Haywood family who had settled in the area in 1743, after leaving their ancestral home in Coventry England. At that time, it was the only church building in the area that is now known as Ocean County. The first missionary, Reverend Thomas Thompson served the area from 1745 - 1751. He was assigned to Stafford Township by the "English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts". A spirit of tolerance was evident in the early church, as it ministered to people of several different Protestant faiths.

In 1770, Captain Thomas Webb is reported to have visited the village, preached at the church, and formed a Baptist Society with nine members. In 1774, when the church called its first pastor, the Reverend H. Crossley, the congregation numbered 19.

During the Revolutionary War, in the "Skirmish at Manahawken", between Captain Rueben Randolphs's Manahawkin Militia and John Beacon's "Band of Pine Pirates" or "Refugees", wounded members of the Manahawkin Militia were treated and cared for in the church. Several veterans of the Revolution are buried in the cemetery surrounding the church along with local citizens at the time and several shipwreck victims. As services had been discontinued during the War, the Baptist Society was not reorganized until 1801.

In 1805, the church baptized forty-four people and the membership increased to sixty-eight. On April 27, 1857 the church was incorporated under the laws of the state of New Jersey. There were five trustees at that time. By 1864, weakening of the walls prompted the appointment of a committee to start remodeling and rebuilding the structure. The rebuilt church with the original within it, was completed under the leadership of Reverend A. H. Folwell. A series of different pastors served in the pulpit of the new church building.

On July 10, 1867 during the pastorate of Reverend E.S. Browe, the dedication service was held. The cost of rebuilding and redecorating the church building cost $2776.00. The records show that all but $200.00 had come from church members and interested friends in the community. The centennial anniversary of the founding as a Baptist Society was held on August 25, 1870.

The church has been added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.