Recently, my friend and colleague Jeff Marshall sent me an article asking if a particular referenced building was the Makefield Monastery. The article was from September 11th, 1880 and the monastery only existed for a brief period in 1895 so I quickly surmised that it couldn't have been that. The article says
Adolphus Y. Watson having obtained possession of the Church building at Jericho, in Upper Makefield, so long in dispute, has concluded to remove it and make a wagon house of it. - Thus holy places are desecrated.
If it wasn't the Monastery, and it was too early to be Woodhill Chapel, then what church in Upper Makefield were they talking about? We went back and forth a few times, but the bottom line is that neither of us had heard of this before. I needed a new research topic, so I set about discovering what I could about this forgotten church.
Adolphus Y. Watson is on the 1876 Atlas owning the house that today sits at 100 Stonybrook Rd. The surrounding property is now the Sycamore Farms development and extended across Stonybrook Rd to Brownsburg Rd, where it formed two triangle shaped parcels. The middle triangle has Stony Brook running directly through the center of that parcel and the upper is at the base of Jericho Mountain.
 |
| 1876 Atlas |
 |
| Samuel Merrick Property 1916 |
A new church is to be built on Jericho Mountain, near the Eagle. It is to be commenced at once, and finished by Christmas. It is to belong to the "Christian" society, but we have not heard who is to be its pastor, or any further particulars.
Three months later we see an advertisement for the opening of the church, with a Reverend James M. Burdick presiding over the dedication.
 |
| Jan 15, 1876 Newtown Enterprise |
Opening Of A New Church - The new Church recently erected near "Jericho Hill", on ground generously donated by Mr. Adolphus Watson, and who also, together with other liberal minded citizens, contributed freely toward the construction of the building proper, was opened for worship on Sunday last, with fitting services. The edifice is said to be the result of the recent revival at Lurgen (sic), and we hear this new Church is undenominational - that is doors will be open to all who believe in Christ crucified. In appearance, the building is plainly constructed in pine boards, with a capacity for seating over a hundred persons. It starts forth under very favorable circumstances, and it is believed will do much good in the neighborhood, no other house of worship being nearer than three or four miles. The pulpit will be occupied during each service by some minister or layman at the command of the officers of the Church. Rev. Burdick and J.W.S. Johnson conducted the services. The building will be dedicated on Sunday.
There was excitement at the prospect of a new place of worship in a location that seemed convenient for the neighborhood, as there were no other churches in the vicinity. The papers reported on the dedication the next week, January 29, 1876.
Dedicated - The new Free Christian Church located in Upper Makefield, near the upper course of the stream of water known as Stony Brook, "where the rugged pine in its lonely price, leans groomily over the murky side", was dedicated last Sunday afternoon by the Rev. Mr. Burdick of Wilmington, Del., assisted by the Rev. J.W.S. Johnson, of Frenchtown, N.J. The attendance was surprisingly large, and had the weather been more auspicious, the belief is that the edifice would have been filled to overflowing. All the young men of this neighborhood were there with their sisters or somebody else's sister - and entered into the exercises with the true Christian spirit. In the rear of the pulpit, in bold and beautiful letters, were the words: "Come to Jesus," and "Ye must be born again."... Services have been held in this church every evening during the week. There is a small indebtedness yet remaining on the edifice, to liquidate which every worthy effort available is being made.
Five months later we find a notice in the paper that the church is going in a different direction and would now be known as the Congregational Methodist Church of Upper Makefield and would hold an "old-fashioned Methodist Love Feast" the next week.
 |
| June 3, 1876 Newtown Enterprise |
Congregational Methodist Church of Upper Makefield - Dissatisfaction Among the Pastors and Attendants. - For some time past, and in fact from the first commencement of the building of this edifice for church worship, numerous drawbacks and discouragements have attended the progress of Christian work in this new field of labor. The history of the church, briefly stated, is as follows: By generous donation and liberal subscriptions of money the work was commenced with apparently good prospects. The church building was located, planned and built during last fall and winter under the supervision of Ralph T. Anderson, of Hunterdon county, N.J., assisted by Gardner Randall, of Easton, J.W.S. Johnson, of Kingwood, N.J., and William Scott and B. Sylvester Bennett of Newtown, Pa., official men in a new religious organization, known as the Free Christian denomination. A small strip of land, pleasantly situated in a delightful grove of majestic oaks on the bank of Stony Brook half way between the Eagle and Brownsburg, had previously been deeded gratuitously by Adolphus J. Watson, upon which the building was erected. The meetings were held from time to time under the supervision of the above named exhorters, until the 16th of January last, when Rev J.M. Burdick, of Wilmington, Del., was called to dedicated the house, but owing to improper discipline and by laws which had been selected, together with a large debt outstanding for work and material against the church, and not very bright prospects now in anticipation, Mr. Burdick refused to perform the dedicatory ceremonies. He, however, continued to preach in the house for some time. A discipline was subsequently compiled for the church government, embodying the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal Church, or so much thereof as would apply to a congregational or independent body. This was agreed to with one exception, which exception caused a division in the body, and the house was thereupon closed by the trustees. Subsequently the house was opened, and by invitation of the trustees and the remaining members of the congregation, Mr. Burdick preached a sermon on the evening of the 31st of January, and has been preaching there ever since. Ralph T. Anderson, the person formerly in charge, has also been about the neighborhood most of the time for the past six months, and since the call of Rev. Burdick to the pastorate, has been devoting his time principally to the selling of bibles, some of which we understand are now in the hands of the express agent at this place. On Sunday, the 28th ult., whilst Mr. Burdick was engaged in conducting the services at the "little church in the grove," Mr. Anderson came in and took a seat in the pulpit, and we are told that when Mr. Burdick sat down after the congregation had commenced singing the opening hymn, Mr. Anderson endeavored to gain the attention of the audience but without avail. This led to considerable comment after the close of service, and from that time until the present quite an excitement has prevailed from this quarter in the heretofore quiet and reserved regions about Jericho. Mr. Anderson is said to be supported in his course in the matter by some of the prominent members of the church, together with Mr. Watson, the donor of the land for the building, and while he is not endorsed by the trustees and the present attendants at the church, there appears to be a desire manifested by some that he shall have charge of the mission instead of Mr. Burdick. Many of his followers are those living in the vicinity of Brownsburg. However, on the morning of Friday, the 2d inst., Mr. Anderson brought two stout iron hasps over from Brownsburg, screwed them tightly on the doors, and securely locked them with padlocks, taking the keys away with him. Mr. Burdick hearing of this shortly afterwards, proceeded to the building and removed the fastenings, and again the church was opened. He then in company with Mr. Peter Weckerly, one of the trustees, went to New Hope, and before Johnson, J.P., had a warrant issued for the arrest of Anderson and one of his friends. Anderson hearing of this speedily departed from the neighborhood, and retraced his steps across the river into New Jersey, from Whence he came. In compliance with previous announcement services were held in the church on Sunday last, morning and evening, but the attendance was not so large as was anticipated, and the "noon lunch" was accordingly dispensed with. At the morning service the sacrament was administered to a number of communicants. Selections were read in the service from I and XXXVII Psalms and I and II chapters of Luke. All present seemed attentive listeners to the sermon, and the pastor, judging from his discourse, is undoubtedly a learned and earnest man. The church has been thoroughly reorganized and is now known as the Congregational Methodist. The trustees are Mr. Weckerly and Cadwallader, B.S. Bennet having resigned, leaving a vacancy unsupplied. The trustees have assumed the remaining debt of the church, and have taken a mortgage on the building as security. The portion of the congregation who followed the teachings of Mr. Anderson, have established themselves at Brownsburg, and hold services in the private dwelling of Mr. Carver regularly. Mr. Anderson hd been preaching there previous to his return to our sister State, and was being assisted in the work by William Scott of this place. We understand that the services will be continued at both points. Mr. Burdick is the inventor of the celebrated hay tedder, and a machinist of no little acquirements, having been previously in the employ of the Remington Gun Works and of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. We are sorry to be called upon to publish these statements, and hope that at no distant day we shall hear of a union of these factions, and that good feeling will be restored and everything transpire harmoniously in connection with the Congregational Church of Upper Makefield.
There's a lot to unpack in that article but the problem seems to have arisen when the congregation wanted to change to Methodist, there was one holdout, Ralph T. Anderson. Anderson was a founder and the man who supervised the building of the church, before Burdick entered the picture. Burdick soon took over as the de-facto head of the church, and eventually Anderson wanted the power back. While Burdick preached at the little church, Anderson and his followers assembled at a private residence in Brownsburg, where most of them lived. Anderson's desire to be the leader led him to attempt to lock Burdick out of the church, which didn't go as planned. Once the authorities were notified, he fled his congregation and went back to N.J., where he came from. Burdick resumed preaching in the little church and Anderson was out of the picture.
We also find out that Rev. Burdick was an inventor of sorts, as he is credited with inventing the hay tedder, and he had previously worked for some large corporations. In 1879 we see him winning an award at the State Fair.
 |
| Sep 27, 1879 Newtown Enterprise |
The next week appeared a rebuttal to Burdick's letter titled A Counter-Blast From Jericho. The author, Charles T. Clark, calls out Burdick for having penned the first letter and appeals to a third party to mediate the church difficulty that has raged twenty months. A week later we see William Scott preaching at the "out-of-doors" meeting at Jericho, presumably the same spot as Johnson near the little church, again annoying the hell out of Burdick.
The question of who should have the right to preach at the church wasn't the only trouble Burdick found himself in the middle of. On October 19th, 1878, the Newtown Enterprise published the following article detailing a spat over the collection of shellbarks between the owner of the land and Burdick which happened the previous year.
Before Our Justices - On Tuesday Adolphus Y. Watson of Upper Makefield, was brought before Justice Merrick upon a charge of assault and battery preferred by Rev. J.M. Burdick. It is alleged that the offence was committed during the month of Novemer, 1877, and grew out of a quarrel about trespassing and gathering shellbarks upon the premises of the Free Christian Church, located between the Eagle and Brownsburg. Watson was bound over for his appearance at Court. A similar case will be brought before Merrick to-day, the 19th inst., in which the trustees of the above named church will prosecute Watson, the Clark's father and son, and others, for the gathering of nuts upon the church premises this season. The "little church around the corner" seems to have been shrouded in difficulties from its very infancy.
In 1878 and 1879 there are a few mentions of Burdick speaking or preaching at various locations such as Dolington and Doylestown but not much about the little church until early 1880, when we learn of its fate.
 |
| February 2, 1880 Newtown Enterprise |
Remembrance of Jericho - It would have been a great pleasure to me to have worked a reform in Jericho, but the rum influence is so strong, and the better portion of the community so indifferent to any reform, that Time's reaper must do the most of the work. Those brought up under the shadow of the old still must first die off. The little church will probably be turned into a wagon house or some other common use. After over 30 years in missionary work, spending all my leisure for the benefit of those around me, this Jericho is the first failure. Here we have a strong temperance element, and this year the town voted "no license," giving 200 majority against Rum.
Burdick laments that alcohol was the reason for the churches failure, which is interesting as it's the first time we hear anything of the sort. He dedicates another paragraph to his recent marriage, to a woman of 253 pounds, which he found noteworthy.
So now we have the story of the church, but where exactly was it located and what did it look like? We find some context clues hidden in the newspaper articles.
- Near the upper course of the stream of water known as Stony Brook
- Little church in the grove
- Little church around the corner
- Little church by the bridge
- The building is plainly constructed in pine boards
 |
| 1937 Aerial showing outline of Shannon extension |
 |
| Stony Brook from the Bridge Today |
It is under consideration to erect a creamery in Upper Makefield, at the site of the disused Jericho Church, on the land of A. Y. Watson. This is a place having many natural advantages; a shady situation, at the intersection of public roads, and where pure cold water can be brought by pipes from springs on the hill side, with sufficient elevation to flow to any part of the building.
This was a time when there was a creamery boom in the county, though this one never materialized. To see what happened to the building we go back to the original article Jeff Sent me.
Adolphus Y. Watson having obtained possession of the Church building at Jericho, in Upper Makefield, so long in dispute, has concluded to remove it and make a wagon house of it. -Thus holy places are desecrated.
Thus holy places are desecrated.
.jpg)
