Presbyterian Church of Farmingdale

The Farmingdale congregation of Presbyterians began as an informal gathering of ten people on December 22, 1870. One week later, on December 29, 1870, the new church was officially organized. During the search for pastoral leadership, Rev. A. H. Dashiell served as the Moderator of the quickly growing church. Around January of 1872, the Reverend Epaminondas J. Pierce became the first pastor.

Meetings of the church were held in the local schoolhouse until October of 1872 when a $3,000 contract was given to Mr. George C. Hulett for an edifice 36’ x 55’. About a third of an acre of land was purchased from William and Emily Goodenough for a new building which was dedicated on August 21, 1873.

Reverend Pierce had been a missionary in Africa where his wife and young son both died. When he returned for a visit to the USA, he found he was not healthy enough to resume his missionary work in Africa. Rev. Pierce was the Farmingdale pastor from 1872 until 1892 when he died.

The original Church manse was built across Main Street on the south side of Southard Avenue around 1892. That building is a family physician’s office today.

After Rev. Pierce’s passing, Rev. Dashiell was appointed Moderator of the church. A little more than a year later Rev. A. E. Weston was installed as the second pastor on July 3, 1893 and served until 1901. He oversaw the construction of a new church in 1895.

On July 22, 1918 sparks from the forge of the Megill Blacksmith Shop next door to the Church ignited a fire.  Flames quickly spread to the church on one side and to the blacksmith’s residence on the other.  Firemen and volunteers from Farmingdale and Freehold worked heroically to save what they could. Most of the furniture, including two pianos, was saved, but finally the terrific heat caused flames to burst all along the entire south roof. The church and its pews and pipe organ were totally lost. From that date until the present church was built, services were conducted at the firehouse. Ira Megill, the blacksmith, felt so bad about the fire that he would never be a blacksmith again, and he reopened his shop as a hardware store.

In 1919, the church asked the Presbytery for permission to sell the manse to help finance the building of the present church edifice. Four years later the name of the church was officially changed to the Pierce Memorial Presbyterian Church and the new church building was completed in 1924. The church was designed by the same architect who designed St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church also on Main Street. A new manse, to the north of the Church was built in 1928.

Among the outstanding laymen of the church during the next 30 years were Mr. William D. Lutz and Elder A. Rulon Applegate. Mr. Lutz bequeathed a large sum of money and his spacious home for church use. Over the years it has been used for many purposes, most recently for Joshua House, providing food and clothing for families in need. Mr. Applegate was ordained as an Elder in 1917 and served until his death in 1960. He held many positions within the church. He bequeathed a Trust Fund to the Pierce Memorial Presbyterian Church.

In 1937, the heirs of William Goodenough Jr. sold another piece of property, between the Church and the Lutz house, to the Trustees of Pierce Memorial Presbyterian Church. Today, the Church and Manse still sit side by side and Joshua House borders Lutz Park.