In September 1875, a group of Barnegat residents posted a notice on the doors of the Main Street building known as the “town hall.” It proclaimed to the public the intention to form a Presbyterian church in town. The group had been meeting in the building for worship under the direction of the Rev. James M. Denton of the Forked River Presbyterian Church.

That house of worship eventually became the Wright Memorial Presbyterian Church, and these historical anecdotes were highlighted on Sunday,…