
Seventh Day Baptist Church
501 Central Avenue
In October 1836, several members of the Piscataway Seventh-day Baptists (original spelling), living in the Plainfield area, met to discuss the creation of a Plainfield church. Such a house opened for worship on February 8, 1838, and the Plainfield Seventh-day Baptist Church was organized on the following day. By 1864, the congregation outgrew this first church, and the lot was sold to the NJCRR for their new road bed.
The cornerstone of the next church was laid on August 1, 1866 on the corner of Madison Avenue and West Fifth Street. Enclosed in a sealed box within the cornerstone were a selection of records including a brief church history, lists of church officials and members, and a copy of the Church Constitution, Articles of Faith and Covenant, and other miscellaneous papers. The building was completed in March 1867.
The cornerstone of the third, and present, Church was laid on November 25, 1890 on the corner of West Fifth Street and Central Avenue. The stone building was designed in the Gothic / Romanesque Revival style by architect O. M. Teale. The exterior stones were from the Martinsville quarry and the roof tiles were designed after patterns invented by George H. Babcock. The new building was dedicated on January 12, 1894.
In 1896, the old building was converted from a church to a school - the Whittier School. The building, now the Plainfield Board of Education, is still standing on the corner of Madison and West Fifth Street.

The Original Seventh Day Baptist Church
Circa 1900s
Paul R. Collier, Photographer

Seventh Day Baptist Church
Circa 1910s
Unknown Photographer

Seventh Day Baptist Church, 1988
Oil on Linen
John Stachowicz, Artist
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Seventh Day Baptist Church
Postmark 1923
Vintage Postcard

Seventh Day Baptist Church
Circa 1910s - 1930s
Paul R. Collier, Photographer

Seventh Day Baptist Church
Circa 1910s - 1930s
Unknown Photographer |
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