Newtown Presbyterian Church

This old edifice is the second of four Presbyterian Church buildings that were erected in Newtown. The first was built in 1734, and William Tennent, the first minister, preached there one Sunday a month.

The first pastor to be installed in Newtown took office in 1752. That church building was erected in 1769 and remodeled in 1842. It is a two-and-one-half-story, rectangular, stone building that was designed in the Greek Revival style. A porch and two vestibules were added circa 1880.{{cite web| url = https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| title = National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania| publisher = CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System| format = Searchable database| access-date = October 30, 2012| archive-date = July 21, 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070721014609/https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| url-status = dead}} Note: This includes {{cite web| url = {{NRHP-PA|H021618_01H.pdf}}| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Newtown Presbyterian Church| access-date = 2012-10-29| author = Kathleen K. Cook and William Sisson| format = PDF| date = May 1987}}

One of the largest buildings in town in December 1776, it was commandeered by General George Washington for use by the Continental Army as a hospital, a jail and a prisoner of war camp during the American Revolution. After the Battle of Trenton, several hundred Hessians were held there before they began their long march to Philadelphia where, they were exchanged for American soldiers.

The small building on the south side of the church is known as the Session House. It was built sometime around 1800, and is a one-and-one-half-story, rubble fieldstone structure. It was used as a meeting place for the session, and is one of only two such buildings in the county still standing. Because most early session members were farmers and did not get to town except on Sunday, the Session House provided a quiet place for conducting church business.

The church cemetery is located behind the church building, and is partially surrounded by a stone wall. Eight British flags mark the graves of men who fought in the French and Indian Wars while twenty-eight flags mark the graves of church members who served under General Washington.

This property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1987.

File:Newtown Presbyterian Church 2.JPG|Newtown Presbyterian Church.

File:Newtown Presbyterian Church Session House 1.JPG|Session House.

File:Newtown Presbyterian Church Cemetery 1.JPG|Cemetery.

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• [http://newtownpres.org/historic-church/ Newtown Presbyterian Church website]

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}

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Category:Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

Category:Historic districts in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Category:Churches completed in 1769

Category:Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania

Category:Churches in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

Category:18th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Bucks County, Pennsylvania