Newtown Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Old Presbyterian Church
| | Newtown Heritage Walk | |
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
1. Old Presbyterian Church Marker
The Old Presbyterian Church was erected on North Sycamore Street in 1769 to replace the original 1734 log structure that stood a half mile to the west on Swamp Road near the high school and the bypass.
In 1776, George Washington used this church and the session house to hold several hundred Hessian prisoners captured during the Battle of Trenton before they were marched to Philadelphia and exchanged for American soldiers. When the building was renovated in 1842, workers discovered a poem written in coal on the basement wall by a Hessian soldier. In the graveyard, 22 soldiers of the Revolutionary War are buried.
Today, the congregation uses the old church on Sycamore Street in the summer. The rest of the year, worshippers spend Sunday mornings at the new church located on the corner of Washington Avenue and Chancellor Street, where services were permanently moved in 1921.
Erected 2007 by the Newtown Historical Association and the Historic Church Committee of the Newtown Presbyterian Church. (Marker Number 13.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites
this page online
Location. 40° 13.919′ N, 74° 56.287′ W. Marker is near Newtown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. It is in Newtown Township. It is on Sycamore Street, on the left when traveling north. Located about 300 feet south of the intersection of Sycamore and Jefferson Streets. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Newtown PA 18940, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Greater Philadelphia. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Elinor Slack Campbell
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
2. Old Presbyterian Church and Marker
Also see . . .
1. The Historic Newtown Presbyterian Church. (Submitted on April 16, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. The Old Presbyterian Church. (Submitted on April 16, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
3. Newtown Heritage Walk. (Submitted on April 16, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
4. Newtown Presbyterian Church - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form.
Newtown Presbyterian Church is significant as one of the best preserved examples of the remodelings of the earliest non-Quaker Protestant churches in Bucks County. Quakers dominated much of the eighteenth century history of Bucks County.(Submitted on December 16, 2024, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.)However, by the end of the eighteenth century other Protestant denominations, including Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists, established their first small, frequently simply constructed churches in the county. As these congregations grew larger between 1800 and the Civil War, they often expanded and remodeled their early buildings into more ornate edifices. The Newtown Presbyterian Church is one of the best preserved examples of the architectural evolution of non-Quaker Protestant churches in Bucks County between 1800 and the Civil War. The nominated church has the added distinction of having one of the few pre-Civil War sessions houses, which were important ancillary church buildings, left in the county.Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 20103. Old Presbyterian Church and Marker
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 19, 2025
4. Old Presbyterian Church
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
5. View of the Old Presbyterian Church Photo on Marker
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
6. View of the Session House and Old Presbyterian Church Photo on Marker
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
7. Old Presbyterian Church Entrance
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
8. Old Presbyterian Church East Facade
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 28, 2010
9. Old Presbyterian Church NRHP Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 16, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,718 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 17, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 4. submitted on July 28, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on April 17, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
