Old Saint Mary's Church
Located at the corner of West Broad Street and Wood Street, Old St.
Mary's was constructed in 1703, and is the oldest Episcopal Church in
New Jersey. Its silver communion service was a gift from Queen Anne,
before her death in 1713. Its first rector, John Talbot, had been a
ship's chaplain, and served from 1705 to 1725. During the
revolution, Reverend Jonathan O'Dell supported the Loyalist
cause, and eventually fled to Canada.
The church was expanded over the years, and a Guild House was constructed
at the corner of West Broad Street and Talbot Street in 1799. Even so, the
congregation needed a larger home by the mid-1800's, and
New St. Mary's was constructed.
St. Mary's churchyard is the resting place of prominent citizens
including former Governor
Joseph Bloomfield,
Elias Boudinot,
President of the Continental Congress,
Representative John Howard Pugh,
Senator James Kinsey,
Senator Garret Dorset Wall
and Mayor James Walter Wall.
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