About the Church of the Presidents....

The Church of the Presidents is the only remaining structure in Long Branch, New Jersey associated with any of the seven presidents who vacationed in the seaside resort during its Gilded Age. Moreover, it has the rare distinction of being the only building associated with all seven of them.

The church stands at 1260 Ocean Ave. in the Elberon section of town -- across the street from the site of President James A. Garfield's death, and just down the road from the site of President U.S. Grant's summer cottage. Both the Garfield and Grant buildings no longer exist.

Presidents Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and Woodrow Wilson all attended services at the church. Only one of them -- Grant -- was out of office when he worshipped there.

Listed on both the State of New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places, the Church of the Presidents was designed by the New York firm of Potter and Robertson and built in 1879. It was established as a branch of St. James Episcopal Church, which was located in the western reaches of Long Branch, and officially registered as St. James Chapel. However, its growing congregation of chief executives led it to become widely known as the Church of the Presidents.

At the time the church was built, Long Branch was the premiere vacation resort in the country, catering to the wealthy, powerful, and famous of the day. Summer residents George Pullman, George W. Childs, and Anthony Drexel financed construction of the church to provide a house of worship closer to their vacation homes. In 1886, the congregation was estimated to have a collective worth of $120 to $250 million.

The Structure

The Church of the Presidents is essentially a tiny wooden auditorium built in the traditional shape of a cross. It resembles a cottage of pseudo-Tudor design, which was very popular at the time. The dark wood interior features exposed beams.

The church remains unaltered since 1895, when its imposing crenellated tower was built. To add the tower, the church was literally split in two, which may be responsible for some of the church's current problems. The original altar, transepts, and part of the nave are preserved, as are two windows by the Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios, and the stained glass "ceiling" that covered the base of the tower. All of these artifacts are now in storage.

Because the church was built to accommodate summer residents, it was open only a few months each year and never had a resident pastor. Yet the church thrived because religious services in the late 19th century were not limited to one sect. Although the church was Episcopal, staunch Presbyterian John Sloane (of the New York-based W & J Sloane Furniture Company) kept a pew there, while President Grant, a Methodist, worshipped there regularly.

By 1940, membership in the church had fallen to about 40, and by the 1950s, attendance had dropped so low that the Episcopal Diocese deconsecrated the church and slated it for demolition. But a few local residents thought better of it.

The late Edgar Dinkelspiel and attorney Bernard Sandler discovered a clause in the original deed to save the church. The clause stipulated that if the building were no longer used as a church, then ownership reverted back to the original benefactors -- Pullman, Childs, and Drexel. Dinkelspiel and Sandler found their heirs and obtained ownership of the church in 1953 as the non-profit Long Branch Historical Museum Association.

The Long Branch Historical Museum

The Church of the Presidents was rededicated as the Long Branch Historical Museum in September 1955. Dinkelspiel and his wife, Florence, maintained and operated the museum. Artifacts on display included the following:

• President Grant's gun cabinet and game table.

• The flag placed over Garfield's casket during services conducted by the Long Branch Masonic Lodge.

• Memorial tablets to the presidents and benefactors George W. Childs and Anthony Drexel.

• The dining room table belonging to Garrett A. Hobart, U.S. Vice President under President McKinley. (Hobart was born in West Long Branch and died in office, predeceasing President McKinley.)

• Two Tiffany windows: One is dedicated to George Talbot, a summer resident, and is cataloged by Tiffany Studios. The other is dedicated to L.B. Brown, the founder of Elberon, which is named for him.

• The church's original pipe organ.

• The church's guest book of attendees.

• A horse-drawn engine from the Atlantic Fire Company.

• A horse-drawn sleigh.

After Dinkelspiel died in 1997, Mrs. Dinkelspiel operated the museum until 1999 when its contents and artifacts were removed because of the deteriorating condition of the church.

Currently, the association is trying to raise funding to restore and reopen the Church of the Presidents, which is expected to cost from $2 million to $3 million.

The church has been named as an Official Project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Save America's Treasures program. This designation recognizes the historic value and critical condition of the site, and makes it eligible for, but does not ensure, funding.