Hometown History: Mendham Ryan Ross and Katie Feather

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Bibliography:
Mockridge, Ella. (1961). Our Mendham
Emmonds, Kate. (1973). Through the Years in Mendham Borough. Self-Published.
Martha G.; Edward W. Roessler & Wallace G. West Hopler (1964). The Mendhams. Publisher: Mendham Township Committee.
Foster, Janet W. (1986). Legacy Through the Lens: A Study of Mendham Architecture. Mendham Free Public Library.
Wright, Helen Martha. (1938). The First Presbyterian Church of Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey and its vital records. Self-published.
Transcript:
One of the oldest aerial photographs of Mendham highlights a specific building. 
Maybe you’ve driven by it picking up your kids from school, or you’ve been in it during a Sunday service. 
It’s a white steepled church on a hill. And regardless of your spiritual beliefs, it stands as one of the iconic symbols of Mendham. 
So when my producer Katie and I went looking for information on the history of the First Presbyterian Church of Mendham, also known as Hilltop Church…we found something a bit confusing. 
In several older books written about Mendham history we came across references to not only this FIRST church…but also a second presbyterian church of Mendham. 
(And listeners, in case you’re not aware, currently, in 2024, there is no Second Presbyterian Church of Mendham)
We dug a little deeper and discovered that this second church formed, in 1859, from a breakup of the first church. 
And whenever there is a schism, there is a story. 
So we wondered…what event could have caused a congregation that had been around for so long (over 100 years at that point) to fracture? Was it geological? Political? Social? A lover’s quarrel? 
—
(Theme)
This is the story of two versions of a church. 
The story behind why…in 1859…it decided to split. 
Welcome to Hometown History. A series about the iconic places and events that make a town someplace people call home. Stories that people can tell to their friends old and new about the place they live, did live, or will live: In my case, Mendham, New Jersey. 
—
Now, I know this is the second time we’re talking about the church on this podcast. But that’s because The First Presbyterian Church of Mendham held a commanding position in the life of the town, both physically and culturally, since the day it opened its doors in 1745. In fact, according to English law and tradition, you didn’t even have a permanent community until you established a church. 
And Hilltop Church is much more than just a place of worship for Mendham. Ask any longtime local, churchgoer or not, and they’ll probably have a story to share about Hilltop. 
Wait this is great…There’s the one about how Ms. Martha Drake, nee Thompson, sat in church near a window during a violent storm and was struck by lightning.
(Thunder crack)
Or how Rev. Philip Courtlandt Hay was run out of town for preaching too heavily against the evils of alcohol.
And of course there’s the story of how the sanctuary was turned into a hospital for soldiers stricken with smallpox during the Revolutionary War. Twenty-seven of them are buried in the cemetery there.
The point is, there isn’t a resident of Mendham who doesn’t know something about the history of The First Presbyterian Church.
But what about the Second Presbyterian Church? The one that was created in 1859 from a split at Hilltop? It dissolved in 1904, so it’s not as if there are local residents alive today who can tell us all about it.
There are several books written by former residents of the town. Our Mendham, by Ella Mockridge; Through the Years in Mendham Borough, by Kate Emmonds; The Mendhams, by Martha Hopler and others. 
But none of them dedicate more than a page or two to this particular chapter of Hilltop’s history. 
The archives of the Mendham Borough Library were able to tell us a little more about the second church as it existed, but not a ton of

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Bibliography
Mockridge, Ella. (1961). Our Mendham
Woodard, Colin. (2012). American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. Penguin Books. https://www.amazon.com/American-Nations-History-Regional-Cultures/dp/0143122029
Munsell, W. W. (1882). History of Morris County, New Jersey
Theme Music:
Howard Harper-Barnes / La Danse Timide / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Transcript:
Working on this podcast about hometowns has me thinking a lot about why people move to Mendham. So I started asking everybody I talked to about their first impressions of this place. 
MELISSA: I thought it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen
Melissa Saharko moved to Mendham with her family from the DC area back in 2017. 
MELISSA: We looked at houses in May and it just, this place sparkles, everything's green, the flowers are blooming... I love a small town Main Street. I love an old house. I love the character. 
And that’s the answer I hear a lot. Mendham’s got charm and character up the wahzoo.
But if you’re putting down roots and starting a family somewhere, you’re going to be looking for more than flags on Main Street to seal the deal. Any parent worth their salt will tell you that education weighs heavily in choosing a new hometown. 
MELISSA:  Maybe it's the crowd I run with, but everyone I meet who's moved to town in the last few years has little kids. They've moved here for the school system. 
(School sounds)
Jessica Couto is a teacher at Mendham Borough’s Hilltop School. She also happens to be my neighbor.  
JESSICA: The curriculum is challenging, we have high expectations for our students…It's not just one factor that's leading us to have great schools. 
Mendham Schools are some of the best in New Jersey. Our two public elementary schools have been awarded blue ribbon status, based on academic excellence.
Mendham Middle School is ranked 7th in the state - and that’s saying something. You remember how tough middle school is, right? 
And West Morris Mendham High School is an International Baccalaureate World School, which gives students an option to learn in a flexible and cross-disciplinary environment. 
By most measures, this means Mendham schools do an amazing job preparing their students for the future. But what makes Mendham schools so good? 
Is it because this is a highly educated, upper class community? Of course, that’s definitly a factor.
But there’s another big reason why Mendham schools are some of the best in the state. And that has to do with…history! 
—
(Theme)
Welcome to Hometown History. A series about the iconic places and events that make a town someplace people call home. Stories that people can tell to their friends old and new about the place they live, did live, or will live: In my case, Mendham, New Jersey. 
—
The best schools in the country, also known as the Ivy League, have three things in common, aside from being the best.  
First, where they’re located.
If you pop open google maps, type in Ivy league, you’re not gonna get a map of the entire U.S. Instead, you’ll get a slightly zoomed in map of only a specific area of the country - the Northeast. 
Second, their age:
Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Columbia, Brown and Dartmouth. They were ALL established before the revolutionary war. They’ve been around a while. 
And finally, FINALLY, and this is really cool: Who established these schools.
William Tennet of Pennsylvania, John Harvard in Cambridge, James Pierpont of Connecticut. These guys had one thing in common. They were all ministers.
(Church organ sounds)
So what’s the connection between the clergy and education? And what does this all have to do with Mendham?
To answer these questions, we have to know a little bit more about the early settlers of America. In fact, let’s take a quick detour into the classroom

Listen on your favorite podcast player:
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Bibliography:
The Centennial Book Committee. (2007) Reflections on a Community. Mendham: Borough of Mendham.https://www.mendhamnj.org/documents/Menhdam%20History/Mendham%20Centenial%20Book%20Reflections%20of%20a%20Community.pdf
Manheim, JB. (2023) Doubleday Doubletake: One Ball, Three Strikes, One Man Out (The Deadball Files Book 3). Sunbury Press. https://www.amazon.com/Doubleday-Doubletake-Three-Strikes-Deadball-ebook/dp/B0CHBSTZH6?ref_=ast_author_dp
Theme Music:
Howard Harper-Barnes / La Danse Timide / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Transcript:
You know when someone asks you "Where are you from?"
Maybe you’re sitting on an airplane getting chummy with the person next to you. Or you’re at a dinner party chatting it up with some people you just met. That question will usually pop up. 
How do you answer? 
I’ve lived all over the world, and my answer usually starts with “Well, how much time do you have?” 
My first hometown, the place where I was born, is Bakersfield, California. And when I tell people I’m from Bakersfield, I also never forget to mention that it is the carrot capital of the world. We’ve been highlighted in some movies, notably Cast Away. You know the port-a-potty Tom Hanks uses to build a boat to escape the island? That is from Bakersfield! 
I moved from Bakersfield to San Jose for college. I lived in Poland for a summer, New York City for five years, and London for four. 
In each of these towns, I’d get the question: “So, where are YOU from?” and I would give different answers every time. While living in London, my wife and I went on vacation to Morocco, where we would say “We’re from The UK.” To my British friends I would say “I’m from the US,” or “New York,” or “California.”
In the fall of 2020 my wife and I were preparing to move again - from London back to the U.S. - but this time would be different. Our next town would likely be our home for a while. And the question “Where are you from?” would hold more meaning.  We’d be putting down roots, buying a house, starting a family. 
It struck me that I would be choosing a place that my kids would think of as their first hometown - the way I saw Bakersfield, California. How would I even choose?
Fast forward to 2023. My wife and I are eating at a nice restaurant in New York City. And this isn’t the type of place where they leave you alone while you eat. They wanna get to know your name, why you’re there, what sports teams you root for. You know, that sort of thing. 
So of course our maitre d’ kicks things off with: “Where are you guys from?” 
I nearly jump out of my seat. 
“We’re from Mendham, New Jersey!” 
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Welcome to Hometown History. A series about the iconic places and events that make a town someplace people call home. Stories that people can tell to their friends old and new about the place they live, did live, or will live: In my case, Mendham, New Jersey. 
What is it about this small town, population five thousand seven hundred, that drew my family and centuries of others into its sphere? What makes it feel like the most special place in the Garden State, and the best kept secret in the tri-state area?
I’ve spent the last eight months digging into this question, and I think I’ve finally come up with an answer - one I can give my kids when they ask why we moved to this tiny town. 
And that answer starts with…Abner Doubleday. 
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In the fall of 2020 my wife and I had just moved back to the U.S. We were living in temporary housing in Morris County, an area we didn’t know much about. We were anxious to find some place more permanent. A house we could really settle into. So on a cold Saturday afternoon we decided to check out an Open House in a nearby town called Mendham. And I think you can probably guess how that turned out.
RYAN: Alright, it’s November 20th, 2020. We

Coming May 8th:

Drive through east of Morristown NJ about 15 minutes, and you'll see an iconic sign highlighting a rich regional and national history. This podcast tells the story of how one New Jersey town evolved since its start in the 1740s, survived through the civil war and prohibition, housed national heroes, excelled in education, and has proven resilient through a series of curious schisms.




Produced by Ryan Ross and Katie Feather











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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hometownhistory.substack.com