Our History

On June 10, 1837, twenty-one men and women met in Liberty Corner to establish “the Presbyterian Church of Liberty Corner”. Many of their family names, such as Annin, Cross, Irving and Dunham, are familiar to residents of the area today, having been incorporated in the names of a school, a park, and various local streets in Bernards Township.

Things moved quickly, and on September 5, 1837, the cornerstone for our first sanctuary was laid. This structure, which was constructed of brick and located on the site of our present sanctuary, stood until 1868.

Our church’s first pastor, Rev. James T. English, preached his first sermon to the new congregation on July 30, 1837. Rev. English, affectionately given the honorific title of “Dominie”, remained our pastor until his death in 1873, at age 63. He is buried in our graveyard.

Through the 1800s, farming was the principal occupation of the inhabitants of Liberty Corner and the surrounding area. The village itself was small, and a history of New Jersey published in 1834, just three years before our church was formed, described it as containing “a tavern, store, and some 20 dwellings, inhabited by intelligent and respectable families, in a fertile and well-cultivated valley”. Growth came to both our church and Liberty Corner in the years preceding and immediately following the Civil War, with a circa 1870 map of the village showing a hotel, two stores, a blacksmith, a schoolhouse, and a carriage factory. With this growth also came the need for a new and larger sanctuary.

The cornerstone for the current sanctuary was laid on June 5, 1868. Local resident and church member James Goltra agreed to construct the building at a cost of $8000. It was to stand on the “footprint” of the old sanctuary and to be completed in six months. Materials from the old church building were salvaged and used to build a structure next door. That building, referred to throughout the church’s history at various times as the Session House, as well as the Chapel, is now known as the Amos Room.

The current sanctuary was dedicated on June 8, 1869. The exterior of the building that stands on Church Street today looks much the same as it did at that time, with two notable exceptions. After a dramatic collapse in a storm, the original steeple was replaced with a smaller one that we see today. Another change occurred in 1969. At that time, the rear of the sanctuary was extended by 30 feet to provide additional space for the altar, choir, and organ, as well as a “music room” below it.

The design of the current sanctuary is attributed to Aaron Hudson, a Mendham architect and builder. The structure of the building resembles that of other churches in the area that he designed such as the Pottersville Reformed Church and the Westfield Presbyterian Church.

In 1991, the village of Liberty Corner was entered into both the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. As stated in the application for designation that was filed with the United States Department of the Interior’s National Park Service, the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church sanctuary is “the architectural centerpiece of the village” and “today displays excellent integrity, with most of its original design features and ornamentation intact.”

In 1992, construction commenced on a 10,200 square foot addition to the Christian Education Building. This project, which in 1994 won an award from Somerset County for “superior land planning and development,” included adding space presently occupied by The Children’s Corner as well as an addition to Douglas Hall.

Most recently, on June 1, 2003, a new 21,700 square foot “ministry center” was dedicated. This space includes what is now called Center Court, the church offices, and classrooms.

In June 1829 an Auxiliary Tract Society was formed in Liberty Corner. It was a branch of the American Tract Society of New York and its object was to promote the interest of evangelical religion and sound morality in this vicinity by circulating religious tracts. Its formation anticipated and prepared the way for the organization of Liberty Corner Church.

In April 1837, the people of Liberty Corner met to adopt such measures as were necessary to organize a Presbyterian Church. Two months later, on June 10, 1837, the Presbytery of Elizabethtown met with leaders from Liberty Corner and The Presbyterian Church of Liberty Corner was formed. A summary of these events was written into the Session Minutes book.

During the church’s early years, pew rentals served as a source of revenue. Here we have included a scan of an actual 1877 Deed for a Pew Rental.

Since pews were rented to specific individuals and families, a seating chart for the Sanctuary was needed. Here is the seating chart that was used in 1871.

We have been blessed by the spiritual guidance, scholarship and discipleship exhibited by our staff over the years. Since its founding, The Presbyterian Church of Liberty Corner has been privileged to have been led by an outstanding succession of pastors. Twenty individuals have served as senior pastors.

Here is a booklet showing a photo of each pastor and a few significant dates from each pastor’s time at LCPC.

Since its establishment, Liberty Corner Church has served as a social meeting place for people in the community. Newspaper articles from the early 1900s speak of the popularity of the oyster suppers and steak dinners that were served to hundreds of people who traveled from the surrounding area. In the mid to late 1900s, annual events such as the “Strawberry Festival” and “Homecoming Supper” were immensely popular, and raised money for church activities.

Here is a scan of an advertisement for the 120th Annual Strawberry Festival from 1996.

Here are some photos from the 2000 Strawberry Festival.

In March 2020, the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic and we had no in-person worship. We decided to check the Session minutes to see what LCPC did during the 1918 influenza pandemic, knowing that churches worldwide closed their doors for a time during that pandemic. Sadly, no record was left for us; only a gap of four months in the minutes.

We decided to maintain a timeline of events for future generations to see what we experienced during this pandemic. We think you will be amazed at all that transpired and encourage you to take a look now.

The earliest recorded burial in our graveyard was in 1839.  Veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, and the Vietnam War are all represented, as are an unknown number of African Americans who attended our church. In 2012, a “memorial garden” was established to the west of the graveyard.

Every little village needed a general store, and Liberty Corner had a couple of them. One of them was the Koechlein General Store. Here is a photo c. 1904. It stood where Krauszer’s stands in 2022.

Another general store was the Acken store. It stood where Domino’s Pizza stands in 2022 and also served as the Post Office.

Liberty Corner School c 1900s (built on the bend in the road on Lyons Road)

Liberty Corner School and Teacherage (c 1925). The Teacherage was used to house school teachers.

Liberty Corner School, 1926

1915 School bus taking Liberty Corner students to Bernards High School

Pleasant Valley School House (early 1900s). This is now part of Café Rustica on Valley Road.

This postcard shows Church Street and Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church in 1912.

This postcard shows Koechlein Hall, which was on the second floor, above Koechlein’s General Store. It  was a popular venue for many types of community social activities, particularly dances.