First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth
Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund
Historic Site Management Grant
Capital Preservation Grant, Level II
Grant Award:
$49,770 (2004); $750,000 (2006), $290,202 (2008)
Grant Recipient:
First Presbyterian Church
County:
Union
Municipality:
Elizabeth
The Presbyterian Church is connected to the history of the Revolutionary War through its outspoken revolutionary minister and because a signer of the Declaration of Independence is buried in its cemetery. After a severe fire, the church was restored in the 1970s to its 18th century appearance. In 2008 the missing steeple was reconstructed. Bordered on two sides by the county offices and courts, the cemetery and church grounds are used as a lunch picnic park by the community.
The Trust current grant will assist replacing the church’s slate roof. The project is guided by a master prepared in 2004 with Trust funding. A previous grant helped fund the exterior restoration of the church, cemetery and parish house.

