1938-1939 Rebuilding and Reconstruction of First Reformed Church, Pompton Plains, NJ (Part 2 of 2)

Sunday morning, October 24, 1937, fire at the First Reformed Church, Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ. Filmed by Carl I. Edwards. Reconstruction of the church took place after the fire from 1938-1939. The rebuilt church (still in use today) was dedicated on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. Rev. Eugene H. Keator was the pastor of the church at the time of the fire. The roof reconstruction took place around June 25, 1938; the first ringing of the new church bell was July 10, 1938, and the new steeple was finished August 25, 1938. Aerial Views show what Pompton Plains looked like in the late 1930s. The start of the video clip shows the corner of Sherman Ave and the Newark-Pompton Turnpike; the houses facing the Turnpike still stand today. The Edwards family lived in this home on the corner.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Pompton Plains
• Pequannock Township
• First Reformed Church
• Fire 1937
• Carl I. Edwards

[mcspomptplains]

Part one (with the actual fire) keeps getting deleted by youtube because I put music on the clip!! I will try to repost.... We made these clips from the original reels.

[shabeki]

@mcspomptplains These videos are as old as the songs themselves and are almost as treasured. It's terrible that copyright issues are preventing people from glimpsing into the past.

[ericedy]

That's Pastor Keator ringing the bell!

[robertwmartens]

So rare to see aerial views like that in a home movie! It makes me sad to think that all those open spaces are gone by now.