 Fairton, Fairfield Township founded 1680, built 1780 Fairton-Cedarville Road corner Sayres Neck Road In 1780 this substantial stone building was erected by a congregation that was first organized in 1680. This is the third building on the site and was completed in 1780. It is essentially symmetrical, which was a common feature of the Georgian style popular at the time, although this would not be described as a Georgian building. It is simply a large meetinghouse. The church is still used for occasional services, but the congregation long since (in 1850) moved into a larger church. The building is surrounded by an extensive cemetery. Fairton was once known as Bumbridge, a name said to derive from a constable (or "bum-bailiff," a corruption of "bound-bailiff") falling through a wooden bridge over Rattlesnake Run while trying to make an arrest. It is the site of an early settlement known as New England Town, as most of the early settlers came from Connecticut. George Whitefield preached here in 1740—in the cemetery, not in the existing church, as Whitefild represented the "new side" element and the then minister was "old side. Gilbert Tennent, another Presbyterian minister associated with the Great Awakening, also preached here in the 1740s. http://fairfieldpca.org/ contains an extended history of the church National Register; HABS Derry, I, 147  Fairfield, Fairfield Township founded 1680, built 1850 Main Street When the center of population had shifted from Fairton to the village of Fairfield, about two miles away, the congregation decided to build a new church close to the center of town. In fact, that was one of the three charges to the building committee. The other two were that the church was to include a gallery at one end and that it was not to have an entry vestibule. This wooden-frame building, two bays wide by five bays deep, was built at a cost of $2,500 on a donated lot. The congregation used the traditional pew rental system common in Presbyterian and Episcopal churches. This is actually the fourth church the congregation has built. The churches website is http://fairfieldpca.org/ . -- Reverend Michael Schuelke provided this information, and the photo is his. (Nice work!).  Fairton, Fairfield Township founded 1791, built c.1880 The building is a traditional meetinghouse style such as might have been built in the 1820s, but the corner tower and the brackets under the eaves suggest a later date, or a later modification. The Methodists were active early in this area, evidenced by the early founding date. The circuit would have included Bridgeton, Port Elizabeth and Newport, but this is the earliest Methodist congregation in Cumberland.  Gouldton, Fairfield Township founded 1820; built 1860 The fine meetinghouse-style building was erected in 1860. It repeats in a smaller scale, the Presbyterian church in Springfield, which is a bit unusual, as churches in the southern part of the state usually looked to Philadelphia for architectural style. NR, I believe |
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Fairfield Township |