The First Five Ministers

The first minister, Rev. Cyrus B. Durand, came here from the Reformed Church of Preakness. He was installed May 15, 1868, and served for three years. He was followed by Rev. August F. Todd, during whose ministry the basement was excavated and "a Sabbath School room was fitted up under the church." For years this was called the lecture room; it is now known as Fellowship Hall.

Rev. Frederick F. Wilson of Cato, New York served from 1872 to 1876, a critical time in Boonton because of the collapse of the cut-nail industry. When wire nails replaced cut nails, the death knell sounded for Boonton's iron works, and around 1876, a serious depression set in. It is told how men walked miles to find work in other towns. Our church was obliged to ask for $300 per year from the Board of Domestic Missions, the first of many financial crises it managed to survive.

Rev. Wilson was succeeded by Montville-born Rev. John W. Conklin, whose father had been the pastor of the Montville Reformed Church and the inspiration for the formation of our church. Consistory minutes record that Rev. Conklin's yearly salary was $600.

During Rev. Conklin's pastorate, a welcome legacy in the sum of $10,000 was received from the estate of Mrs. Eliza Crane. This enabled the parsonage lot to be bought. Soon after that, plans for the parsonage began to take shape, and half of the $10,000 legacy was used for this building.

Other achievements of those years were the incorporation of the church, the providing of a primary class room, and the liquidation of the church mortgage. The congregation cooperated with the local Presbyterian and Methodist churches during a week of prayer. Old records note of Rev. Conklin that "during his four and one-half years, the church, though often embarrassed for funds, was richly blessed."

Later, Rev. Conklin went to India as a missionary. he was succeeded in 1881 by Rev. Oliver H. Walser. During Rev. Walser's years as pastor, the hymn book known a Christian Praise was adopted, regular ushers were appointed, the collection envelope system was instituted, the church was assessed for a share in missions, and monthly temperance meetings were held.