39. ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH Traditional Cache

St. Peter’s Church is the oldest Episcopal parish in New Jersey. Historic records show that the first service was held in 1685. The first rector arrived from England in 1698. The royal charter was received in 1718, the same year as the city of Perth Amboy received its charter.

Leaders of the colony of East Jersey, including William Franklin, the Royal Governor (and son of Benjamin) worshiped here. During the Revolution the citizens of the town were divided in their sympathies. Perth Amboy was occupied by both sides as the conflict raged. The church building was used as a barracks and even as a stable.

The churchyard surrounding the present church building (second on this site, built in the 1850’s) contains many gravestones that predate the American Revolution. Thomas Mundy Peterson, the first black voter under the fifteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution, was a parishioner and is buried in the churchyard. 

The church has several impressive stained glass windows which depict historical events associated with the church or Perth Amboy. One of the windows is shown in the photo on the left. It depicts John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Rutledge in Perth Amboy on September 11, 1776. They are shown waiting to be taken across the Arthur Kill to Staten Island, where they would meet with the British Admiral Richard Howe to discuss peace negotiations. The figure in red is the British officer sent by Howe as a hostage.

The following description of the Revolutionary War damage to the church is from a 1924 book, A History of St. Peter's Church in Perth Amboy:

"During the war the church was roughly treated. The fences around the church were burned by the soldiers for firewood, and the pews of the church and even the flooring were broken up for the same purpose. All the glass had been broken from the windows and shutters were used to keep out the cold. The church was used for stabling horses and as a barracks for soldiery, American and British forces using it in turn, as the town came into the lines either of the American or the British forces. The gravestones were used to make soldiers' ovens and to serve for tables in the preparation of their meals. "

This cache is one of "The American Revolution Geo~Trail" caches throughout New Jersey. These program geocaches are hidden at historic locations which have a connection to important New Jersey's American Revolutionary War history. To participate in the optional Geo-Trail, after you find the geocache, locate the secret code and record it into your passport which you will print from the Geo~Trail website. Information at njpatriots.org

The current St. Peter's Episcopal Church building was built in 1852. It replaced an earlier church structure built at this site in 1722 which was greatly affected by the Revolutionary War.

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