My name
is Frank Greenagel and I am the owner of this website, as well as of
the publishing operation I've named The Wooden Nail
Press. You can read why in the about section.
I'd like to encourage you to look at the print on
demand section also,
as it contains an explanation of a technology and means of production
that serious book-buyers need to know.
My
purpose is obviously to sell you a book while you're
here, so
I've tried to provide all the information you might need to decide.
All the books are on the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century churches,
meeting-houses and synagogues of New Jersey. I suppose it would be
fair to say that I'm regarded by many as the leading authority
on that subject—Rutgers
University Press asked me to write the entry on "religious architecture" for
their Encyclopedia of New Jersey a few years ago, and the
oldest scholarly history journal in the country, New Jersey History,
had me contribute an article on late-Victorian Methodist churches.
And I've probably visited more churches in the state than anyone, ever.
To
date I've photographed almost 1,300 of the old churches of New Jersey—there
are about 1,450 of them still standing, and my goal is to
capture them all. We'd
be the first state in the country to have a complete inventory of
the
religious
architecture
of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Three of the county books
are available now, and the fourth should be out by the end of July.
I've
been working
on the project for 11 years, and expect to write two books a year,
maybe three.
I'll update
this page quarterly, or whenever I've got a new book coming out, but
if you are interested in religious architecture please check back occasionally
as I will update the events & links and
the reviews sections periodically. The website
will probably evolve a bit as I learn more about the interests of people
like you, so please send me any reactions or suggestions.
Historic
Churches of Sussex County:
religious
architecture in 19th century rural New Jersey
by Frank L.
Greenagel
164 pages,
140+ b&w illustrations, tables, glossary, appendices, bibliography
8 x 10 in., paperback, list price: $24.50
ISBN-13: 978-1438209932 Publication
date: May 2008
Churches are the unchanging element in a rural county that is developing
rapidly— whether because of respect for their age, on account of
solid construction, or perhaps simply because they were erected in obscure
corners
and on lonely hilltops that have yet to be dug up, plowed under and paved
over. Why they are located where they are and why they look the way they
do is the subject of this richly-illuminated guide. It's part architectural
history and part social, economic, and liturgical analysis.
Historic Churches of Sussex County, New Jersey is
an illustrated guide to all 39 of the 19th century churches and
meetinghouses
still standing in Sussex County. The book explores
and explains the history of Sussex’s religious buildings, from the
earliest meetinghouses in Sparta and Stockholm to the late-nineteenth century
Yellow Frame Presbyterian church that sits on the county line with Warren.
The subtitle of the book, Religious Architecture in 19th Century
Rural New Jersey, suggests that the book goes beyond an inventory
of the old churches of the county; in fact, it might serve well as a basic
reference
on architectural styles and construction traditions during the nineteenth
century. In order to preserve the unique story of the structures, some
in danger of being lost to history, Greenagel spent more than eight years
in fieldwork and research, logging countless hours on the road, in the
library and in the darkroom.
Each of the 39 surviving churches from the county’s early history
is visited and photographed, with special attention paid to the founding,
construction and architecture. A singular perspective on 19th century life
emerges as it becomes clear that religious buildings provided structure,
meaning and identity to the rural and village communities of the area almost
a century and a half ago. From the sophisticated Gothic Revival designs
erected in stone by leading architects to the simple wooden-frame meetinghouses
built by hand by members of the congregation, the book offers an engaging
account, illustrated by stunning photographs of the visual and material
presence of Sussex's religious buildings.
This definitive volume will allow readers to look anew at
the religious buildings of Sussex, providing information for curious congregation
members and historians alike. The book includes an outline of architectural
styles, a brief account of the religious denominations operating in the
state during the early centuries, a glossary of architectural terms, and
an extensive bibliography.
