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Upper Freehold Baptist Meeting | |
Location | Yellow Meetinghouse and Red Valley roads, Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey |
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Nearest city | Imlaystown, New Jersey |
Coordinates | 40°10′8″N 74°28′28″W / 40.16889°N 74.47444°W |
Area | 25 acres (10 ha) |
Built | 1720 |
NRHP reference No. | 75001147[1] |
NJRHP No. | 2069[2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 21, 1975 |
Designated NJRHP | March 25, 1975 |
Upper Freehold Baptist Meeting, also known as Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House, is a historic church located on Yellow Meetinghouse and Red Valley roads in the Red Valley section of Upper Freehold Township near Imlaystown in Monmouth County, New Jersey.[3] It is the oldest Baptist meetinghouse in the state.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 1975 for its significance in religion and exploration/settlement.[3]
An earlier building for the area Baptists was erected in 1720 on land donated by Thomas and Rachel Salter.[3] The current meeting house was built in 1737.[5] It is oriented so that the gable ends are facing due east and west, to maximize sunlight on the southern side. The first resident minister for the congregation was David Jones (1736–1820).[3] The parsonage was built c. 1830.[5]
The oldest dated grave in the Yellow Meeting House Cemetery is Salter's son, John, who died August 29, 1723.[5] The 5-acre (2.0 ha) cemetery has about two hundred graves.[3]