St. Michael's Church, Trenton, New Jersey


St. Michael's Episcopal Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


Location	Trenton, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°13′20″N 74°45′55″W / 40.22222°N 74.76528°W / 40.22222; -74.76528Coordinates: 40°13′20″N 74°45′55″W / 40.22222°N 74.76528°W / 40.22222; -74.76528
Built	1748
Architect	VanKirk, Augustine M.
Architectural style	Other, Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference #	82003280 ^[1]
Added to NRHP	April 29, 1982

Established in 1703, St. Michael's Church in downtown Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, is the founding parish of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey. Its present building located at 140 North Warren Street was built between 1747 and1748 and was renovated in 1810 and 1847 to 1848,. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 29, 1982 as St. Michael's Episcopal Church.^[1] Its congregation, now a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, has involved itself in the history and culture of the city of Trenton from its founding in 1703 to the present.

History: 18th century

St. Michael's was organized as a parish in 1703 in Hopewell Township. A Church of England building was erected on "Breese Farm" in 1704. In 1708 the parish was gifted with articles from Anne, Queen of Great Britain. These articles now reside in the New Jersey State Museum.

The main sanctuary of St. Michael's Church was built 1747–1748 at its present location on North Warren St. in Trenton. The building was extensively renovated in 1810. The distinctive turrets facing Warren Street remain from the 1810 renovation, but the bell tower is no longer standing.

In 1776, during the American Revolutionary War the building was closed and the congregation disbanded due to the evenly split Revolutionary / Loyalist sympathies of the congregation. The building was subsequently used as a hospital and the churchyard a burial ground for Hessian soldiers fighting to retain British control of the American Colonies.

During the 2005 and 2006 Patriot's Week re-enactments of the Battle of Trenton, Continental Army re-enactors passed by the Warren Street entrance to the sanctuary, but spared the delicate, plaster walls the insult of a legendary cannon blast.

Trinity Cathedral in Trenton (which currently serves as the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey) was itself founded by a delegation of parishioners from St. Michael's Church.

History: 19th century

In 1801, St. Michael's was host to the seventh General Convention of the Episcopal Church and the site where the delegates ratified a revised version of the Anglican Church's 39 Articles of Religion. This adaptation was thus accepted by the Protestant Episcopal Church USA, part of the Anglican Communion, yet not subject to oaths of loyalty to the British crown.

History: 20th century to date

Notable in more recent history is the voluntary racial integration of St. Michael's in 1955 through merger with the African congregation of St. Monica's Parish, occasioned by the Episcopal Church Women of their respective congregations. Through the end of the millennium at least St. Michael's parish has remained integrated with respect to race, national origin and language; today, St. Michael's Parish remains a diverse community.

In 1973 St. Michael's became a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey. In 2006 St. Michael's Church was awarded a $50,000 grant for an architectural feasibility study due to the history of the building and grounds.

Sanctuaries and churchyards

The Hopewell Sanctuary: In 1704 the Church of England building was erected on "Breese Farm" (later the site of the New Jersey State Hospital in an area which became Ewing Township, NJ, in 1834).
The North Warren Sanctuary (1748- : The principal sanctuary of St. Michael's was renovated to resemble Lambeth Palace with two turrets and a bell tower. The bell tower of St. Michael's is no longer standing, but the turrets and towers remain. Inside the main sanctuary are two Tiffany stained-glass windows.
The churchyards and their notables: The churchyards of St. Michael's contain the graves of persons notable for their contributions to the history of the United States:
- The Hopewell Churchyard: Mary Trent, wife of William Trent, founder of Trenton was buried in the Hopewell Graveyard.
- The North Warren (Trenton) Churchyard: In the churchyard of St. Michael's on North Warren Street, a large, granite slab with prominent Masonic insignia marks the grave of David Brearley, a New Jersey delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, signer of the U.S. Constitution and first New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice. The niece of Napoleon Bonaparte (daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, exiled to nearby Bordentown, New Jersey) also rests in the churchyard.

References

1 2 Staff (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

Resources

The primary source for much of St. Michael's history is the work of Hamilton Schuyler. A History of St. Michael's Church Trenton: In the Diocese of New Jersey from the year of our Lord 1703 to 1926: Told from the Minutes of the Vestry and other original sources, together with Biographical Sketches of Bishops, Rectors, and Men prominent in the Vestry and the Parish. Also Transcriptions from the Parish Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials; from the earliest entries down to 1855. Fully illustrated. Authorized for publication by the Vestry. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 1926. Of a printing of 500 copies, the church is fortunate as of 2007 to have at least two copies.
Other sources which reference St. Michael's Church, Trenton include
- William White's A sermon delivered before the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States of America: In St. Michael's Church, Trenton, ... the Right Reverend Bishop Moore of New-York.
Samuel Starr's 1850 A word of self-defence: Read by the rector, at a full meeting of the wardens and vestrymen of St. Michael's Church, Trenton, New Jersey, and published with their unanimous approval, September 1850
- Trenton (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing)) by Cathleen Crown and Carol Rogers (Paperback – April 1, 2000)
- History of St. Michael's, 1700–1925 (Unknown Binding)

External links

National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey

Landmarks	Abbott Farm Archeological Site Westland Mansion Albert Einstein House Joseph Henry House Lawrenceville School Maybury Hill Morven Nassau Hall Old Barracks Maclean House Princeton Battlefield Prospect House William Trent House Washington Crossing State Park

Districts	Bear Tavern Road--Jacob's Creek Crossing Rural Historic District Berkeley Square Historic District Delaware and Raritan Canal Harbourton Historic District Jugtown Historic District King's Highway Historic District Kingston Mill Historic District Lake Carnegie Historic District Lawrence Township Historic District Mill Hill Historic District Mountain Avenue Historic District Pleasant Valley Historic District Princeton Historic District State House Historic District Stockton Street Historic District Titusville Historic District Trenton Ferry Historic District Windsor Historic District

Places of worship	First Presbyterian Church of Trenton First Presbyterian Church of Pennington Penns Neck Baptist Church Sacred Heart Church St. Michael's Church Trenton Friends Meeting House

Houses	John Abbott II House Abbott-Decou House Anderson-Capner House Baker-Brearley House Bow Hill Charles Brearley House Gen. Philemon Dickinson House Douglass House Drumthwacket William Green House Green-Reading House John D. Hart House Hart-Hoch House Donald Grant Herring Estate Highfields House at 379 West State Street Hunt Farmstead Rudolph V. Kuser Estate Ichabod Leigh House Mansion House Mercer Street Friends Center Old Ryan Farm Isaac Pearson House Joseph Phillips Farm John Rogers House Samuel Sloan House Smith-Ribsam House Israel Stevens House Joseph Stout House Tusculum University Cottage Club Col. John Van Cleve Homestead Jeremiah Vandyke House Isaac Watson House John Welling House John White House Jeremiah Woolsey House

Commercial buildings	Adams and Sickles Building American Cigar Company Broad Street National Bank Henry Clay and Bock & Co. Ltd. Cigar Factory Golden Swan-True American Hopewell Station In and Out Social Club Thomas Maddock's Sons Company Mount Rose Distillery Old Eagle Tavern Pennington Railroad Station Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Freight Station Princeton Railroad Station Roebling Machine Shop John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Trenton N.J., Block 3 Somerset Roller Mills Stokely-Van Camp Industrial Complex Trenton Bath House West Trenton Station

Public buildings	Bellevue Avenue Colored School East Trenton Public Library Higbee Street School Mott School and Second Street School Trenton War Memorial Trenton City Hall U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children

Sites	Archeological Site No. 1-18th Century Vessel (28ME196) Crosswicks Creek Site III Princeton Ice Company Washington Road Elm Allée

Structures	Hog Island Cranes Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge Trenton Battle Monument Trenton City/Calhoun Street Bridge

Former	Princessville Inn

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey

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