Old Tennent Church

Periodca. 1900

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensions6.5 × 9.4 in. (16.5 × 23.9 cm)

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineMuseum Collection

Object number1988.576

DescriptionA three-quarter view of a two story, five bay church with a three bay gable end surmounted by a cupola capped with a conical roof and an elaborate rooster shaped weathervane. The church is partly obscured by trees that appear to its left and right. Tombstones are depicted in the foreground.
Curatorial RemarksA local artist probably executed this peaceful view of Old Tennent Church, which shows the building as it looked around 1900. However, interest in the edifice and its connection to the Battle of Monmouth was expressed not only through artistic renderings: in a letter published in St. Nicholas Magazine in November 1886, one “Mariana VanD” from Manalapan informed the editors of this popular children’s journal that the church “which stood on the battle-ground was in good repair. It has two rows of small windows and a quaint little steeple”––a description that is echoed in this finely crafted drawing. Mariana also said that the pews are “very uncomfortable; many of them are stained with the blood of Revolutionary soldiers. Visitors sometimes chip pieces out with their penknives to carry away as mementoes. Just outside the door stands a sturdy oak which stood there at the time of the battle.”NotesOld Tennent Church in Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, was built between 1751 and 1753. It figured prominently during the Battle of Monmouth which occurred on 28 June 1778. Old Tennent is one of the best preserved colonial churches in New Jersey.

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