REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN RIDGEFIELD, NEW JERSEY

English Neighborhood Reformed Church
1040 Edgewater Ave.
Map / Directions to the English Neighborhood Reformed Church

The English Neighborhood Reformed Church was first built in 1768-1769 in what is now Leonia, and what was then called the English Neighborhood. The church was dedicated in 1770, and its first minister was Gerrit Lydekker (also spelled Garrett Lydecker or Gerrit Leydecker). Lydekker remained loyal to the British in the Revolutionary War, and in 1776 he fled the church for British-occupied New York City. [1]

The original church was used as a hospital and guardhouse on several occasions during the war. It was torn down in 1792; a bronze sign in Leonia marks the location where it stood. This church building was constructed in 1793, using some of the stones and wood from the original church. The structure and appearance of this church have remained mainly the same, except for an apse and church office in the back of the building. [2]

Source Notes:

1. ^ For information about Garrett Lydecker and his decision to remain loyal to the King of England, see:
Firth Haring Fabend, "The Reverend Gerrit Lydekker: From Coetus to Conferentie, An Explanation of 'What Happened'," in Barbara Z. Marchant, Editor, Revolutionary Bergen County, The Road to Independence (Charleston: The History Press, 2009) page 65-79

2. ^ Information was drawn from:

• The Bergen County Historical Society sign in front of the church in Ridgefield

• The bronze sign at the location of the original church building in Leonia

• National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the English Neighborhood Reformed Church of Ridgefield, submitted July 16, 1998
Available as a PDF on the National Park Service /National Register of Historic Places website here.