New Utrecht Reformed Church, 1827 83rd Street at 18th Avenue Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York is the fourth oldest Reformed Church in America.
The church was established in 1677 by ethnic Dutch residents in the town of New Utrecht, Brooklyn, several years after the English took over New Netherland (now Manhattan). Previously, the inhabitants of New Utrecht formed part of the congregations of Flatbush, Flatlands and Brooklyn.
The cemetery was consecrated in 1654 with 1300 dead interred there. The earliest recorded burial was in 1654. Members of such notable early Dutch settlers as the Van Pelts, Van Brunts, Cropseys, Cowenhovens and Bennetts are buried there.
During the Revolutionary War the British made New Utrecht their base of operations for the Battle of Long Island, the first large-scale British invasion of the colonies.
The Liberty Pole, the sixth on the site of the present church, was originally erected in 1783 at the end of the Revolutionary War to harass departing British troops. The Liberty Pole marks the spot over which the American flag first waved in the town of New Utrecht. The original pole was erected by our forefathers at the Evacuation of the British, November 1783, amid the firing of cannons and demonstration of joy.”
The present church was built in 1828 of stones taken from the original church, built in 1700. It is a rare example of a rural church in a picturesque setting in New York City. Construction was supervised by US Army engineer, Rene Edward De Russy, who led the construction of Fort Hamilton at New York harbor. The parish house was built in 1892 and the parsonage in 1906. This sketch is of the parish house.
The church was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966; the parish house and the cemetery received landmark status in 1998. Both the church and the cemetery are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.