Cohansey Baptist Church - Roadstown, NJ
Posted by: 
NJBiblio
N 39° 26.360 W 075° 18.812
18S E 473019 N 4365578
The oldest Baptist church in South Jersey. As a matter of fact, aside from the Quakers, this is the oldest active church of any faith in South Jersey.
Waymark Code: WM98GD
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 07/13/2010
Views: 4
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ROADSTOWN,
1.6 m. (no alt, 220
pop.), is the home of the Ware family whose hand-made chairs, widely known for
more than a century, are popular with collectors of old American furniture. The
method of weaving rush seats is a closely guarded secret. At the center of
Roadstown is the COHANSEY BAPTIST CHURCH, founded about 1737, a brick structure
in a grove of sycamore trees. This structure replaced a former log building
erected near Sheppard s Mill (see below). -- New Jersey: A
Guide to Its Present and Past, 1939
This is a beautiful old church.
Very simply build and exquisitely maintained. This current church
building, according to the histories I have read was build in 1801. It is
the third church building on the site, the first being a log church build in the
1690s. This gives the church the distinction of being the oldest
continually operational church with the exception of the Quakers, in South
Jersey.
For the church building itself,
the main building was constructed in 1801. A parsonage was completed in
1862 and a small chapel added in 1876. It was remodeled twice, once in
1851 and again almost 100 years later in 1949. The final additions were in
1964 when an education building was added and again in 1968 when the heating and
electrical systems were fully modernized.
This is especially revered by
Baptists because it is considered the "mother church" for South Jersey, being
constituted in 1683 and operating continually since that time.