St. Peter’s Church
St. Peter’s Church has a long and colorful history. There is really no record of when the first Church was actually built, but in 1758 it was described by the Rev. Robert McKean as “a handsome wooden church in a small village called Spotswood”. The original 30 families, who had joined together in 1756 to form St. Peter’s parish, no doubt worshipped in this first church. In 1773 King George issued a charter to St. Peter’s that officially established the church. This charter is on display in the Parish Hall ( or may be in the church, not sure as of this writing) In 1768 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, a group that sponsored St. Peter’s before the charter was issued, made 2 significant donations to the church. The first was a bible from 1767 and the 2nd a book of Common Prayer from 1764. You can see both of these in the display case at the rear of the church.
Spotswood itself suffered little during the Revolutionary War. While it is true that American troops spent the night in Spotswood after the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, and that George Washington sent dispatches from here, there was no actual fighting that took place in the town. But St Peter’s suffered. The priest at the time, Reverend Ayers, insisted on praying for the Royal Families, being a Tory supporter. Due to this, the church was closed for the duration of the war. This started a downhill spiral for the Church. From 1811-1823 there was no permanent pastor. Services were still held officiated by itinerant preachers. Continuing financial troubles caused the deterioration of the church building itself until in 1848 services could no longer be held there. By 1850 the cornerstone was laid for a new church. In 1854 a dedication was held and in 1872 the Rectory was built.
During the years there have a been a succession of Pastors at St. Peter’s. One of them disappeared overnight, never to be heard of again! Many left due to the church’s inability to pay them. One was declared insane and another left under “questionable” circumstances. These were all fairly common occurrences for the day!!!
In 1896 the chancel area was expanded to accommodate an organ and a baptistry. The stained glass window in the chancel was donated by the DeVoe family. The Rapoyle family donated the window in the baptistery area.
On Good Friday in 1928 a squirrel ate through the wires in the church and caused a fire. The damage was extensive and cost the parish over $10,000 in repairs.
In 1979 the church was entered into the State and National Historic registers. In 1991 a Restoration Committee was formed that culminated in the steeple being replaced in 1995. Some of you may remember this event which was accomplished by bringing a huge crane onto the grounds. Our brave pastor at the time, Lee Powers, went up on the crane to give the new steeple a blessing!!!
On your tour you will hear some other facts about the church and some of the things that happened here through the years. Some other interesting facts are that there was an outhouse behind the church for many years. No one remembers exactly when, but during a rather serious flood, the outhouse floated away!! The foundation was discovered when construction was begun on the Memorial Garden!!
The candle that you see burning in the red lamp is called a Sanctus Lamp. It used to be hanging from a beam over the Sanctuary area. One Easter morning, the pastor at the time, Canon Cox, pulled the candle down to light it. Something went wrong and the whole lamp came down on his head causing a concussion that did not prevent him from conducting services, but did lead to the replacement of the lamp to its present sight.
Over the years we have made changes and improvements to the church. The carpeting has been replaced, the stations of the cross on the walls were donated by Carol Reynolds, widow of our past Senior Warden, Doug Reynolds; a new altar was constructed by Paul Kulpa, a parishioner. This enabled us to bring the original altar back into the church, which is the one you see behind the free standing altar. We have installed closed circuit TV so that parents can bring their small children to the nursery and still see and hear the service. The Altar rail has been moved to make it easier for kneeling or standing. We have provided handicapped access to the church to enable everyone to attend with ease. And improvements will continue. But while the physical building may be improved and new elements added, nothing will ever change the history that lives in this building and in the parish of St. Peter’s! We’ve had a lively and historically significant 250 years and expect that will continue for many, many years to come!! Thank you.