Meetinghouse board looking for volunteers to help in preservation efforts
Efforts to preserve the Old School Baptist Meetinghouse are moving forward as the historic landmark received $150,000 from the state for improvements and preservation.
The meetinghouse, which is steeped in Hopewell Borough history and located on 46 West Broad St., was the site for a celebration of state funding from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund on Aug. 2.
“This grant will allow us to begin to make necessary upgrades to our building and start the process of preserving and restoring a local, state and national treasure,” said Kris Provenzano, president of the Meetinghouse Board of Trustees, calling the grant “a good steppingstone” for the foundation.
Overseeing the Old School Baptist Meetinghouse is a Board of Trustees, whose current members are Provenzano, Julie Osborn, Marsha Lowe, George Wislar, Rae Grasso, Mark Bovenizer, and John Buck.
“We still have a long road ahead of us,” Provenzano said. “A little over a year ago, we were in dire straits as a foundation with few opportunities or ideas for how we can sustain our operational needs let alone our necessary improvements.”
With help from Hopewell Borough officials and staff, the Meetinghouse foundation connected with Architect Ronica Bregenzer, Archaeologist Ian Burrows, and Architect Michael Mills, who serves on the Borough Historic Preservation Commission.
They are working with Mills on a preservation plan for the Meetinghouse, which is already being developed now.
“From there we are going into other grants,” Provenzano said. “But, in order to get the other grants, we have to have our certificate of eligibility for the state and federal historic registry. We are hoping by the end of this year we will have [the certificate of eligibility] and then we will be able to go for [other] grants. That will help with our grant work.”
The current state grant being received and any additional grants to restore and renovate this building will go towards addressing operational needs and making necessary improvements.
“In order for the Meetinghouse to serve the community better, our plan includes a new HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system, restoring the exterior of the church and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant bathrooms,” Provenzano added. “We are in need of volunteers now more than ever and I would like to invite interested folks to join in any capacity.”
The board also continues to fundraise private donations for planned preservation efforts for the Meetinghouse.
The $150,000 state grant funded from the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) State Fiscal Recovery Fund under the American Rescue Plan was made possible through efforts from Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli, State Sen. Shirley Turner, and Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, all of District 15.
“Founded more than 200 years ago, the Old School Baptist Meetinghouse represents hope inspired by faith and possibilities,” Turner said. “Those desires continue to encourage and guide us today and forever link our history to our past. We have so much to learn from the experiences of those who came before us.
“That is why we are also excited that this funding will provide an opportunity to share the history of our communities beginning through the establishment of an educational program promoting this historical site, engaging the public and helping people to give them a sense of place and connection to our past, providing inspiration to all of our futures.”
Verrelli noted that the process wasn’t easy to get the funding, but it was a great idea from the onset.
“About 15 months ago, we were here for a Witness Stone ceremony to honor Friday Truehart, the late parishioner of this church,” he said. “It was a moving moment for me and gave a greater appreciation for the building’s significance.
“It is critical that we talk about our history, so we know where we came from and what that does is help future generations have a better understanding of the trials and tribulations people fought for to be where we are today.”
The legislators joined members of the Hopewell Borough Council, Mayor Paul Anzano, Meetinghouse board and community members for the funding celebration.
“Members of Council and I have been very supportive of this effort,” Anzano said. “We have spoken about it at Council [meetings] on a number of occasions and we have had an open dialogue with Board of Trustees about the money and what we were hoping.
“We shared the same vision on what this would look like once the money has been put to good use and the other efforts have been undertaken.”
Anzano said he spoke to Verrelli at the Witness Stone ceremony about the borough’s vision for the Meetingouse.
“… He said to me ‘how much,’” Anzano recalled. “We started working on [the vision] then.”
The Meetinghouse is on land that was donated by John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and is the beginning of what established Hopewell Borough. A square stone meeting house was originally built in the late 1740s on the site of the current 1822 red-brick building.
A descendant of Hart, whose name is also John Hart, attended the ceremony. He is a former Hopewell Township committeeman and said it was great that Hopewell can preserve a part of history.
“Hopewell Valley is rich in history, and I think Hopewell Borough is really one of the main stays for the signers of the Declaration of Independence,” he said. “It is just a privilege to have this opportunity to look at this place again.”