Bell Tower @ St. John's Episcopal Church - Runnemede, NJ
N 39° 49.951 W 075° 03.787
18S E 494599 N 4409170
Traditional, smallish bell tower sits to the rear right of this NRHP church.
Waymark Code: WM9R4W
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2010
Views: 2
The bell tower is shingled, steep, comes to a sloping point at top, like a witches hat. The tower gently rises a few feet off of the roof. There is housing only for the bell and nothing else. The bell works well as it gonged rather loudly on my visit.
From my previous waymark:
This is a very pretty church built on the grounds of the original church. According to records, this church has had its ups and downs and at one point almost closed. The cemetery grounds are filled with very old stones. The church also has an unusual cornerstone. It is a red block with the date and a perfect plus sign which I guess is supposed to be a cross. The inscribed date and symbol looks to be incised. It is surrounded by gray stone block. It can be found on the right side, kind of obscured and hard to find if you are not a waymarker.
From the church website: "Following 1850, the church began a period of decline, even closing for a time. St. Paul's, in what is now the city of Camden, was responsible for the revival of St. John's around 1860. A Sunday School, which grew to one hundred pupils, was formed by two ladies from St. Paul's. That church's rector, the Rev. Joseph F. Garrison, held monthly services at St John's for about ten years.
The Rev. Gustavus Murray, rector of Grace Church, Haddonfield, began serving our congregation about 1872. His ten-year tenure saw substantial growth within the church. St. John's Guild was founded and a new church building was constructed during Rev. Murray's service. Plans for the new church were drawn by noted Philadelphia architect, George Watson Hewitt. Edmund Brewer, a local shipbuilder, donated the stone that was brought from a quarry in Pennsylvania on his scows. Area residents then carried the stone by wagon from the landing to the building site. The new church would stand in front of the 1790 church. The Right Reverend John Scarborough, Bishop of New Jersey, laid the cornerstone on November 14, 1880. He also consecrated the handsome stone structure on November 9, 1881. When the old church was torn down, its wood was used in the construction of carriage sheds across the street.
There is also a sign out front near the road. There is actually two of them set up like a table tent for advertising. The sign reads:
Chews Landing
Birthplace of Lt. Aaron Chew
Dec. 19, 1751 - Sep. 23, 1805
Soldier and Patriot served with distinction in
Gloucester County Militia in Revolutionary War.
Captured By British while home on leave and
confined in prison ship at Fort Lott, N.Y.
Founding Member of Saint John's at the head of
TImber Creek, 1789.
Lies buried in this historic graveyard.