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The Church That Turned Around: South River’s Old School Baptist Church

In the heart of Middlesex County, New Jersey, lies the Borough of South River. It is a small town—just under three square miles—but its history tells the larger story of the Garden State’s industrial evolution.

Once known as “Washington Village,” this NJ town was originally a bustling river port where steamboats loaded with local peaches set sail for New York City. Later, the discovery of massive clay beds turned the borough into a brick-making capital, producing billions of bricks that built skylines across the Northeast.

Standing quietly through all these changes is one white, columned building: the Old School Baptist Church.

The Church That Flipped

Founded in 1785, the Baptist congregation was the spiritual anchor of the early community. In 1805, they built their first meeting house. But if you look closely at the architecture, you will see that the building literally turned its back on its past.

• The Original View: When first built, the church faced the South River, not the road. In the early 1800s, the river was the highway, and the building was a simple, unadorned structure typical of early Baptist meeting houses.
• The Reorientation: By the 1850s, the town had changed. Roads were becoming more important than the river landing. The church underwent a massive renovation: a second floor was added, a grand portico with 20-foot columns was built, and the entire building was physically reoriented to face Main Street.

Architectural Curiosities

The 1850s renovation left the building with some unique features that architecture buffs will appreciate.

• The Windows: To make the new two-story building look cohesive, the builders installed massive 40-over-40 sash windows. These extremely tall windows span both the first and second floors without a break, creating a striking vertical line that disguised the fact that the building had been split into two levels.
• The “Primitive” Split: In the 1830s, a national schism occurred in the Baptist faith. This congregation sided with the traditionalists, rejecting “modern” innovations like missionary societies, and renamed themselves the “Old School” or “Primitive” Baptists.

The Cemetery and the Sculptor

Behind the church lies a historic cemetery that tells the story of the town’s early families. While many stones have been lost to time, one monument stands out, protected by an iron fence.

It is the memorial urn of Jane Frazee, who died in 1832.

• The Connection: Jane was the wife of John Frazee, a Rahway, NJ native who became one of America’s first notable sculptors.
• The Art: Frazee is famous for carving busts of early American icons like John Jay and for designing the New York Customs House. He carved Jane’s memorial sketch himself, leaving a piece of high-art history in this small New Jersey cemetery.

Adaptive Reuse: A Library and a Museum

By 1922, the congregation had dwindled. Rather than let the building fall into ruin, they sold it to the town for $5,000 to serve as the First Free Public Library.

It served as a library for over 50 years (with a drop ceiling added in the 1950s to save on heat). In the 1990s, a massive restoration project stripped away the modern alterations, revealing the original 19th-century finishes.

If You Visit

Today, the building is the home of the South River Historical & Preservation Society. It serves as a museum and a repository for the town’s industrial past.

• Location: 64-66 Main Street, South River, NJ 08882.
• What to See: The museum interior features perimeter displays showcasing the town’s diverse history, from the clay and brick industries to the textile mills that once employed thousands of immigrants.
• Don’t Miss: The artifact collection includes original bricks from the local kilns that literally built the surrounding region.

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For More Information

South River Historical & Preservation Society (www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njsrhps)