On October 14, 1867 the Presbytery of West Jersey organized the First Presbyterian Church of Glassboro, New Jersey. There were ten charter members, including two Stangers, members of one of several skilled German families who established a vital glass works industry in Glassboro. The first house of worship was located at 273 State Street, where as of today, it still stands.   This building, however, was soon too small for the growing congregation. 

A new building was constructed on Church Street at a cost of $1700.  In 1883 it was moved to Academy Street. This structure served the Presbyterian congregation until 1912 when it was sold to St. Thomas Episcopal Church to be used as their Parish House.  Sometime later it was sold to a dry cleaner.

In 1913 a third house of worship was dedicated at 300 University Boulevard in Chestnut Ridge, which was a new (and rather ritzy) housing development in Glassboro at that time.  Less than a dozen houses were in this development at this time.

Of course many ministers have faithfully served our church.  I vaguely remember the older members of the church referring to a Reverend Hunting, but we couldn’t find any pictures of him.  Pictured here, however, is Dr. Alexander Laird.  He was installed in October 1917 and remained for twenty years. He was a very scholarly Scottish man. He was pastor during the depression and spent much of his time distributing bags of flour and other food supplies to families who had lost their jobs. He helped many people through those troubled times.

As Glassboro grew into an important railroad stop and home to the Glassboro Normal School, a respected training school for teachers, so the church also grew.  During the 1950’s, for instance, enrollment was about 250 in the Sunday school and worship attendance in 1960 averaged 172 per Sunday.

There were five choirs and there were two services held each Sunday. At that time a large number of college students attended.  After all, that is what all respectable young people, especially women as most all of the students at the normal school were, did in that day. 

As for Chestnut Ridge it too grew.  By 1954 there were 319 houses occupied and about 200 more were projected to being built within a half—mile radius of the church (homes for the Post World War II baby boomers).

A key leader in this period of expansion was Reverend Louis A. Galbraith.  He was installed on September 28, 1939 and served for fifteen years. Many people who knew him will remember him visiting the homes of small children on Christmas morning.

Rev. Galbraith and the elders had a vision for a new addition to the church that would provide much-needed space for educational and rec­reational activities.   Reverend Galbraith drew up the plans for the addition himself and people gave to the project by sponsoring bricks.  When asked how much one should give to the project, he replied “When I have made my gift, and am proud and content with it in my heart and conscience, then [the gift] will be sufficient.”  Those seem like wise words of stewardship. 

Apparently they did then too because the money was raised and the men of the church worked together to build it. Unfortunately, Rev. Galbraith died in October of 1954 before the building that now bears his name was finished.   But the vision lived on and in 1957 Galbraith Hall was completed. 

Rev. Galbraith’s sister-in-law, Frances Mellor, was an important person in the life of our church for many years.  Frances was a graduate of the Julliard School of Music and a very gifted musician. She directed our choirs and played piano and organ for many years without pay before receiving a salary.

After Rev. Galbraith died, she lived with Rev. Galbraith’s sister Deborah for many years. 

She contributed to our church music from 1939 until she retired in 1981—an amazing 42 years of service. 

Even after she retired, she continued to be amazing.  The congregation, for example, recalls how at a talent show in the early 1990’s she played “Amazing Grace” without missing a beat or practicing for several years.   They had planned for her to play only a verse or two but after a bit, everyone realized that this was a moment of “Amazing Grace” and enjoyed her playing all the verses.  Frances went to meet her Lord in 1994.

Another person active in this earlier era was Evolina Cox.   She was the boro nurse and somewhat of a legend in town.

The Reverend J. Edward Barrett, III, was installed as pastor on June 22, 1958. He was a born teacher and had classes for all members, with the Bible and theology as the subjects. He left in 1962 to become a professor at Muskegon College in Ohio.

After finishing Galbraith Hall, the congregation had also planned to extend the sanctuary to better accommodate their numbers.  However, when plans were being finalized, they discovered that termites had caused considerable damage to the sanctuary. After a period of study and discussion, the congregation decided to replace the original sanctuary instead of repairing the damage and enlarging it.

The bell tower was preserved from the original church and placed in its current location. The present sanctuary was dedicated in 1965. While it was being built the congregation worshipped in the J. Harvey Rodqers School.

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