The Union Church and Burial Ground (also known as the Old Mud Church) is an historic, American church and cemetery that is located on East Presqueisle Street in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
Union Church and Burial Ground | |
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| Location | E. Presqueisle St., Philipsburg, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°53′53″N 78°13′4″W / 40.89806°N 78.21778°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1820 |
| Architect | Turner, Samuel; Kinnear, William |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Gothic Revival vernacular |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002365[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 23, 1978 |
| Designated PHMC | November 02, 1967[2] |
The church and cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
History and notable features
editA log meetinghouse was built in 1820 by the fifty-seven residents of Philipsburg for a cost of $343. The building was used both as a school and as the community's first church, open to all Protestant ministers.[3]
In 1842, the building was extensively rebuilt as a Gothic-style, Anglican church with a three-story entrance tower added to the front, a chancel added to the rear and the log walls of the meetinghouse incorporated into the main sanctuary. A rough mixture of plaster and clay stucco covers the church giving it its common name of the "Old Mud Church."[3]
Hardman Philips had donated much of the money to rebuild the church and intended to make it an Episcopalian Church. After a lengthy lawsuit, the church continued to serve many denominations, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists. The last regular religious use was by Free Methodists during the early 1920s. The building has also been used as a local museum.
The cemetery is surrounded by a three-foot stone wall and contains a 330-year-old white oak known as the "Founder's Oak." The oldest grave dates to 1819.[3]
The church and cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It is located in the Philipsburg Historic District.[1]
Gallery
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Rear of the church in a 1935 photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
- ^ a b c Ramsey, Gregory; William Watson (1978). "Union Church and Burial Ground" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places nomination form. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
External links
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Media related to Union Church (Philipsburg, Pennsylvania) at Wikimedia Commons
- Historic American Buildings Survey, 3 photos, 7 drawings and 2 data pages
- "Old Mud Church", 3 interior photographs
- Find a grave