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These old photos hide a newer one
underneath - just pass your mouse over the old photo and the new one will
appear; you must have Java-script enabled for this to work. The
photos run from the top of Main Street down to the bottom (it is only two
blocks long). ========= The original Baptist Church stood at the head of Main Street. It was built in 1874 and met in the bottom floor at first because the sanctuary was not completely. After the arrival of Rev. Earle in 1914 the congregation became too large and plans were made for a new church. (see bigger article here) Apparently the old church was already abandoned when this photo was taken, probably around 1920. Note the ivy and weeds in front. For many years Sunday School and holiday parties were still held in this building and by the 1930s the pews upstairs were removed and the young men played basketball in the old sanctuary. In the 1940s a member of the church purchased the building and converted it into a private business. Today it is an engineer's office. The diamond-shaped windows on the entryway still exist, as does the stone wall along the road. |
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This is a view of the old church from across Young's Mill Pond. It also shows a street car - the line ran all the way to Newark. When the new church was being built, young people from the Sunday School would get on the trolley and sell peanuts to the passengers. Today the only vestige of this pond is in the back of Sam Mino's house. The Baptist Church conducts baptisms here each summer. The white house on the left side of the 2006 picture is the old church. |
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Another view of the mill pond. Here, races are being
conducted for the Ledgewood Gala Day. It was an annual community
festival whose real purpose was to raise money for the new Baptist church.
It did a good job at this - they paid off the mortgage in only seven
years! Gala Day was well documented in the years before and during
World War I. The new picture shows the remains of the old dam. The white building at the top in the middle is the original church. |
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This is the original parsonage for the Baptist Church.
Rev. Dare, who served from 1905 to 1914, is sitting on the porch. The parsonage is remarkably unchanged after a century. The Wood family has lived there for many years.
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