Historic facility on Stagecoach Road restored to how it looked in 1845.
By: Scott Morgan
MILLSTONE Johnny Appleseed died that year. President John Tyler left office. President James K. Polk took over. It was the beginning of the Irish Potato Famine and the start of Sir John Franklin’s Arctic exploration.
And on a small parcel of land in Millstone, a small church opened its doors for the first time.
Saturday, Oct. 6, those doors will reopen to a piece of history; to how that small church looked 156 years ago.
The Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church will have an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., four years after a major renovation effort saved the building from falling prey to the bulldozer.
Doreen Polhemus, Millstone’s township historian, led the fight to save the building in 1997. In 1998, Emley’s Hill Church, which owned Clarksburg Methodist, donated the church to Millstone Township. In February 1999, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"It’s quite a gem," Ms. Polhemus said. "We’re quite proud of it."
One of the reasons Ms. Polhemus says she believes the church is such a gem is that it has gone untouched by technological progress. There are no rest rooms or electric lights. The building, she said, looks as it did in 1845.
In recent years, the Millstone Heritage Council, of which Ms. Polhemus is a member, has used the building for its purposes, but, Ms. Polhemus said, there has been no church services in the building for quite a long time.
The open house will feature a photography display of the restoration efforts since 1997.

