[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 10 (Wednesday, February 1, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E57]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SUCCASUNNA

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 1, 2006

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the First 
Presbyterian Church of Succasunna in the Township of Roxbury, Morris 
County, New Jersey, a vibrant community I am proud to represent. On 
April 29, 2006, the good citizens of Succasunna will celebrate the 
First Presbyterian Church's 250th anniversary.
  The congregation first organized in 1756. In 1760, their first 
building was erected and measured approximately 36 by 40 feet in size, 
had plain seats, an unfinished floor and no ceiling. In fact, it wasn't 
until 1768 that the congregation was strong enough to extend a call for 
a full-time pastor, Reverend William Woodhull, whom they shared with a 
congregation in Chester, New Jersey for a salary of 400. 
The church building was used during the Revolutionary War for barracks, 
for a hospital, and to keep material dry. It is rumored that George 
Washington visited hospitalized troops there. When the new Centennial 
Bell for Independence Hall in Philadelphia was being cast, the church 
contributed one of the cannons being stored there for bell metal.
  On May 3, 1817, the church incorporated a Board of Trustees as ``The 
Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Suckasunny Plains.''
  In 1853, the congregation tore down the original building and raised 
a new one in the fall of the same year. Amongst other relics, they 
placed a brief history of the church, a list of the officers and 
members at that time, certain newspapers, and a bullet found in 
removing the old building bearing the date in etching July 4, 1776 
within the cornerstone of the new church. The first service in this new 
building was the funeral for Mahlon Dickerson, a distinguished native 
son, who had been judge, general, Governor of New Jersey, Member of 
Congress, and Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of President 
Jackson. He was responsible for bringing President Martin Van Buren to 
worship there.
  The building, now known as the Chapel, was erected in the memory of 
Eliza Platt Stoddard, a step-daughter to then Reverend Dr. Elijah W. 
Stoddard. In 1957, a committee planned fundraising for a new pipe organ 
and a major expansion project for what is now known as Fellowship Hall.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna on the 
celebration of its 250 years serving Morris County.

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