St. Peter's Church was founded on January 1, 1827, as the Episcopal church for the growing community in Morristown. Its first services were held in the home of George Macculloch –a prominent town member and builder of the
Morris Canal whose mansion stands near the church. The parent
Anglican and Episcopal congregation had existed in the area and called itself St. Peter's since the 1760s, In 1840, the Reverend William Staunton introduced the parish to a
movement that emphasized the Episcopal Church's
catholic origins and
apostolic succession as the ties to the
Apostolic community and its
Eucharistic worship. The current building was designed to include the styles and art of early and medieval Christian liturgy to engage modern worshipers in the Eucharist in this same way. By 1887, the large congregation, and growing men and boys choirs, justified the erection of the current, massive edifice. The architect of this structure was
Charles McKim of the firm
McKim, Mead and White that built the old
Penn Station, New York, as well as
Columbia University, and the
Rhode Island State House. Over 24 years of construction, McKim and the congregation built one of the finest examples of neo-gothic architecture in the United States. The entire parish complex is made up of a cemetery,
rectory, great hall and parish house, in addition to the Church, and is known to have at least two secret passageways still in use, concealed behind bookcases and in cloisters connecting the various parts of the property. It was consecrated on November 2, 1911, by the Rt. Rev.
Edwin S. Lines, Bishop of
Newark, after a parish breakfast that hosted over 500 people. In its affluence, St. Peter's was the parent church to several other Episcopal parishes in the area. These include St. Mark's
Basking Ridge, St. John's
Dover, and
Grace Episcopal Church in
Madison, New Jersey —all built in the 1850s while Dr. Rankin was rector of St. Peter's. == Today ==