Dear Listers, >From time to time, someone posts questions about the Yellow Meeting House in Upper Freehold, Monmouth County. This article was published in the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday, 7/26/00. Perhaps it will help you in your search. Regards, Maureen ******************************************************************************* Yellow Meeting House in Upper Freehold to celebrate heritage Published in the Asbury Park Press 7/26/00 By JOSEPH SAPIA FREEHOLD BUREAU UPPER FREEHOLD -- When Robert Haver walks into Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House, it is a walk into yesteryear. "I think you can have an emotional connection to the people of the past," said Haver, a resident of neighboring Hamilton who chairs the Friends of the Old Yellow Meeting House preservation group. What a connection it is -- dating to 1737, when the cream-colored, two-story, wood Baptist meeting house was built. Or even dating to about 1720, when an original meeting house was built at the site. The original meeting house was destroyed by fire and apparently immediately replaced by the current meeting house. This Sunday, the connection with the past will again be solidified when Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House holds its 85th annual reunion and luncheon. The noon picnic-style luncheon, to be held under a tent on the grounds, will be a preceded by nondenominational religious services in the meeting house at 11 a.m. and the annual meeting of the friends after the luncheon. This year is also the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Friends of the Old Yellow Meeting House. The friends group oversees the maintenance of the meeting house and caretaker's house. The caretaker's house, built on the site of a parsonage, is 20 to 25 years old -- dating to about the same time the meeting house was renovated. "The reunion service, I think, is to bring life to the church, rather than have it stand as a cold relic of the past," Haver said. Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House, on Yellow Meeting House Road and one of the oldest Baptist meeting houses in the country, is owned by the Upper Freehold Baptist Church, which is in the Imlaystown section of the township. While the Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House has a religious affiliation, the friends group does not. "The friends are composed of various religious convictions, not just Baptists," said Betsy Poinsett, an Allentown resident serving as vice chairwoman of the group. "They were concerned about the preservation." Poinsett, for example, is Presbyterian, while Haver is a Baptist who belongs to another congregation. Both are charter members of the preservation group and have been trustees for several years. The friends group has about 150 to 200 members. If the weather is nice on Sunday, about 150 people are expected to attend the luncheon, Poinsett said. The meeting house seats about 100 and speakers will be placed for anyone who cannot get inside to hear the worship service. The reunion has its roots in the Upper Freehold Baptist Church's congregation meeting at the Yellow Meeting House Road site until about 85 years ago, Haver said. When the congregation's Imlaystown church was built about 3 1/2 miles away, the tradition of having a reunion at the old worship site began, Haver said. Aside from at the annual reunion, Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House is used for religious services at Thanksgiving and for occasional weddings. The friends group meets there during warm weather, using the Upper Freehold church during cold weather because the meeting house has no heat. "I think it's important to preserve our edifice, which is a tribute to our ancestors," Poinsett said. "There is nothing like the quaint charm of the older buildings. So much has been torn down in the name of progress." The meeting house has a loft, wooden pews, wood floors and a raised preaching area. The structure sits on a foundation of iron ore, which is the characteristic fieldstone of the area. People interested in history may focus on the meeting house cemetery, whose oldest grave dates to about 1725. Visitors are welcome to the cemetery any day during daylight hours, Haver said. "If you walk through the cemetery, you're going to see the names of a lot of families that still exist in the area," Haver said. Those family names include Applegate, Dey, Clayton, Polhemus, Gravatt and Holmes, Haver said. Anyone seeking information on Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House may contact Haver at his home at (609) 588-0730. Joe Sapia: (732) 863-1500 or (800) 822-9770, Ext. 7756 Published on July 26, 2000 Copyright 1997-2000 IN Jersey. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 4/21/00). Site design by IN Jersey. **************************************************************************************