John Street Methodist Church
About this property
The John Street United Methodist Church – also known as Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church – located at 44 John Street between Nassau and William Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1841 in the Georgian style, with the design attributed to William Hurry and/or Philip Embury. The congregation is the oldest Methodist congregation in North America, founded on October 12, 1766 as the Wesleyan Society in America. The Society built its first church, a blue stucco barn called the Wesley Chapel, on this site in 1768; its design was attributed to Barbara Heck. Timber from the Chapel was later used in building the Bowery Village Methodist Church and the Park Avenue United Methodist Church. The second church on this site was built in 1817-18, and the extravagance of the building provoked a secession from the congregation by Rev. William Stillwell. The third church, the current one, was necessitated by the widening of John Street. The church was designated a New York City Landmark in 1965 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 1984, the church sold its air rights to 33 Maiden Lane. Hymnist Fanny Crosby was a member of the church congregation for many years. Below the sanctuary, the Wesley Chapel Museum displays many artifacts from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American Methodist history. These include church record books, the Wesley Clock (a gift of John Wesley, 1769), love feast cups, class meeting circular benches, the original 1785 altar rail, the original 1767 pulpit made by Philip Embury, and Embury's signed Bible. National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street Media related to John Street Methodist Church at Wikimedia Commons
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was John Street Methodist Church listed on the National Register?
John Street Methodist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1973.
What type of historic resource is John Street Methodist Church?
John Street Methodist Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for John Street Methodist Church?
The period of significance for John Street Methodist Church is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near John Street Methodist Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near John Street Methodist Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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