The congregation dates to 1725, with the present structure built in 1800. During the Revolution George Washington maintained headquarters here and presided over the court martial of General Charles Lee in 1778. The cemetery next to the church has burials dating back, as far as I can tell, to the 1770's, although many of the headstones are so old and worn that the inscriptions are missing. Generations of Westervelts, Ackermans, and Bantas are buried here, reflecting the early Dutch heritage of Bergen County, and their descendents still live in the area. The Battle of Monmouth, the famed Molly Pitcher battle of the American Revolution, was fought on June 28, 1778.
Legend has it that a bloody handprint can still be seen on one of the pews.
The church is a fine example of colonial architecture, and the large graveyard surrounding it is a history lesson in itself. The many graves of kids and young adults are a somber and poignant reminder of the tenuousness of life in the early days of American history. Click on the above link to read about a vanished bit of Jersey's glory Van Saun County Park , Paramus, Bergen County Not far from the megamalls of Paramus is this megapark, which features a zoo, a train ride, a reconstructed farm, a botanical garden, a lake, a restaurant, wooded areas, and picnic tables galore. Next time you bite into a blueberry muffin, you can thank Elizabeth White, for it was she who first cultivated blueberries here. To honor White s contribution to agriculture, every year the Whitesbog Preservation Trust sponsors its annual Blueberry Festival on the last Saturday in June.