This exhibit is the online counterpart to a physical exhibition documenting thirty-six of the earliest local houses of worship in Plainfield from the 1790s to the 1970s. Included were over 150 historical photographs, vintage postcards, original blueprints, artifacts, and ephemera from our archival collections. The physical exhibition ran from April to June 2013 and was on display throughout the entire library building.

If you cannot find a particular house of worship in the exhibit, it is simply because we do not have any photographs or other materials that document it in our collections. We always welcome new donations into our collections. If you would like to make a donation, please contact the Local History Department.

There are two ways to view this online exhibit. You can click on the house of worship names in the table below or you can browse through page by page using the arrows at the bottom of each page. If you want to return to the menu below, click "Main Menu."

Enjoy the exhibition!

Bethel Chapel
East Fifth Street and Washington Street

The Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church organized the Bethel Chapel in 1884, as a traditionally African-American chapel.  It was built in 1887 at the Corner of East Fifth Street and Washington Street (later known as Roosevelt Avenue).

Bible Truth Hall
209 / 331 East Front Street

During the 1880s, Bible Truth Hall was usually called the Front Street Meeting, denoting its location in downtown Plainfield on East Front Street.  It appears in the city directories in 1916 at 209 East Front Street.  By 1925, the street address changed to 331 East Front Street.  The congregation later moved to Fanwood.