Site of Baptist Log Meeting House - near Bridgeton, NJ - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Some of the early English settlers to South Jersey followed a system similar to that in Massachusetts and the rest of New England. Companies invested in ventures to settle the lands and then farm them for profit. One such company was the Bowen Company, who settled near the present day Cohansey River near present day Bridgeton. It was on this spot that the Baptist settlers from this company (and now the residents of Bowentown) built their first meeting house in 1690.

Within the next 10 years, the Bowen Company and Bowentown were struggling and moving on to merge and more to more successful towns. This log meeting house and burial ground were abandoned when the congregation merged with the nearby Cohansey Baptist Church to the north. Another group of Seventh Day Baptists moved further west to the town of Shiloh and established their church there, which also still stands.

Text reads:
"1690 - 1787

Site of Baptist Log Meeting House and Burial Ground steeled by the Bowen Company and their leader Rev. Timothy Brooks

United with Cohansey Baptist Church in 1710

Seventh Day Baptists in this Company established the Shiloh Church in 1737"

Group that erected the marker: Cohansey Baptist Church Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Greenwich Rd. west of Barretts Run Rd. near Bridgeton, NJ 08302 URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   09/05/2010 RDOwens visited it