Mahwah in Bergen County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Ramapo Reformed Church

By Cosmos Mariner, August 24, 2019

1. Ramapo Reformed Church Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

The Ramapo Reformed Church succeeded two German Lutheran meeting houses, ca. 1720-1739. The area was called the “Island.” Dutch Calvinists came at mid-century and, in 1785, organized “The Dutch Reformed Congregation at Ramapough in Bergen County.” In 1798, the Dutch Reformed and Lutherans built the present church. They shared it using “1 lock and 2 keys” until the Lutherans left in 1848 to build a church at Airmont, N.Y. The “Island” was the center of Mahwah until the coming of the railroad in the mid-1800’s. The Ramapo Reformed Church (“Island Church” or “Community Church”) is the oldest of two wood-frame Federal period church buildings remaining in Bergen County, and the only surviving early church building in the County with a history of shared ownership and use. In 1985, the Ramapo Reformed Church celebrated 200 years of continuous ministry.

National Register 1985
Mahwah Historic Sites Committee 1988

Erected 1988 by Mahwah Historic Sites Committee.

Topics. This historical marker is listed

By Cosmos Mariner, August 24, 2019

2. Ramapo Reformed Church Marker

Click or scan to see
this page online

in these topic lists: Architecture • Churches & Religion • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1798.

Location. 41° 5.681′ N, 74° 9.164′ W. Marker is in Mahwah, New Jersey, in Bergen County. Marker is on West Ramapo Avenue just west of Island Road, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located beside the sidewalk, directly in front of the subject church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Island Road, Mahwah NJ 07430, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Old Lutheran Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away); Mahwah’s First Station (approx. ¼ mile away); Wanamaker Utility Shed (approx. ¼ mile away); Tree of Life (approx. ¼ mile away); Hopper Gristmill Site (approx. half a mile away); American Brake Shoe Foundry (approx. 0.6 miles away); Laroe-Van Horn House (approx. 1.1 miles away); Rochambeau’s Encampment (approx. 1.4 miles away in New York). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mahwah.

Regarding Ramapo Reformed Church. National Register of Historic Places #85002000 — listed as "Dutch Reformed Church at Romopock"

Also see . . .
1. History of the Ramapo Reformed Church

Ramapo Reformed Church image. Click for full size.

By Cosmos Mariner, August 24, 2019

3. Ramapo Reformed Church

. As soon as its doors opened to the public in 1798, the new Ramapough Meeting House became the heart of the daily activities. Social gatherings and civic meetings were held here all week long, and personal and official notices were posted on the doors. But on the Sabbath (from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday) the building became a sacred place. In 1798, when pews and people were smaller, the Meeting House held 385 people. (Today, it holds 250). Though the old box-type pews are gone from the sanctuary, the gallery seats above still exist. (Submitted on May 22, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Dutch Reformed Church at Romopock (Ramapo Reformed Church). The Ramapo Reformed Church is locally significant as one of ten remaining Federal-period churches in the County. The smallest of the Reformed Churches and the oldest frame church in the county, it was the home of two faiths, the Lutheran and the Dutch Reformed congregations. Situated at an important crossroads of the American Revolution where a supply store belonging to Robert Erskine was located, it is also Mahwah's oldest public building and served as the town meeting house. (Submitted on May 22, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 22, 2020. It was originally submitted on May 22, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 58 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 22, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.