Perhaps you’ve heard whispers of a church in Brooklyn that has stood for centuries. This is the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church. It is a testament to time and faith.
The Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church complex includes the church itself, a cemetery, a parsonage, and a church house. This land has been used for religious purposes longer than any other site in New York City. Think about that for a moment.
The congregation formed in 1654. Peter Stuyvesant ordered Jan Gerritse Strijker to build the original church. The current church is the third building on this sacred ground. Thomas Fardon designed it. Construction spanned from 1793 to 1798.
Notice the Federal style of the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church. It features a stone tower with a belfry. Tiffany studios created the stained glass windows. They honor the early settlers of Flatbush. The church is built from Manhattan schist. You can also spot Romanesque features like arched windows and Tuscan colonettes. The bell was imported from Holland. John Vanderbilt paid for it.
Legend says American soldiers who died in the Battle of Long Island rest beneath the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church. Imagine the history beneath our feet.
The cemetery holds the remains of Flatbush’s founding families. The oldest readable grave marker dates back to 1754. The parsonage was built in 1853. It’s a wood-frame house. Its style bridges Greek Revival and Italianate influences. It was moved to Kenmore Terrace in 1918. Meyers & Mathieu designed the church house in the Colonial Revival style. It was erected in 1923 and 1924.
The Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church received its initial New York City Landmark designation in 1966. The boundary was expanded in 1979. In 1983 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Even H.P. Lovecraft mentioned the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church. He described its iron-railed yard of Netherlandish gravestones. The church house appeared in the Hulu series “The Path.” It served as the Meyerists’ New York City headquarters.
The Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church stands as a symbol of faith and community. Its history is etched in its stones. Its stories are whispered by the wind. Take a moment to appreciate the legacy of this remarkable place. Its enduring presence enriches Brooklyn’s cultural landscape.