[4] The Gothic Revival style church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 8, 1976, for its significance in architecture and religion.

As county records indicate, Jacob Riley purchased it and started construction on the chapel, which was subsequently completed by Henry James Anderson in 1854.

This decade saw the Catholics from Hackensack and Lodi gather weekly at Fort Lee for Holy Mass and spiritual instruction.

While seeing to the church's completion, Anderson, a convert to Catholicism, served as a surgeon and as professor of astronomy and mathematics at Columbia College in New York City.

The author of various scientific tracts, Anderson died suddenly while gathering information for one of these in Hindustan during exploration of the Himalayas, October 19, 1875.