Bethany
Presbyterian Church/Cemetery
Bridgeville, Allegheny Co, PA
--As more settlers arrived in the
area, members of Bethel Presbyterian Church living around the mouth of
Miller's Run asked for a separate organization at a meeting of the Ohio
Presbytery on April 20, 1814. A few months later, during a meeting
at Pigeon Creek on October 18, 1814, their request was granted and Bethany
was established. In January of 1815 at the Presbytery in Washington,
Pa., the first minister of Bethany, Rev. Alexander Cook accepted their
call and was installed on March 28, 1815. The original church and
cemetery was located outside Bridgeville, on three acres of land that was
purchased from Moses and Abraham Middlesworth. In 1838, a new and
larger church was constructed on the same property by Cornelius Borland.
Sometime in the 1860's the congregation decided to begin a mission Sunday
school in the town of Bridgeville. At first it was located in an
old schoolhouse on Baldwin Street, but in 1869 a lot was leased from the
Middlesworth heirs and a building that came to be known as the "Lord's
Barn" was built by James Ross. In May of 1876, the congregation in
Bridgeville were formally organized by the Pittsburgh Presbytery into the
Bridgeville Presbyterian Church. Beginning in the early 1880's there
was an ongoing discussion about combining the two organizations and in
April 1888 they were united using the Bethany name but keeping the location
in the town of Bridgeville where the current church is located. The
old Bethany Church on Miller's Run is no longer standing, however burials
at the cemetery continued until 1943.
Bethel
Presbyterian Church/Cemetery
Bethel Park, Allegheny Co, PA
--The church was originally named
Peter's Creek because of its location at the headwaters of the creek which
empties into the Monongahela River. Founded by Dr. John McMillan,
its first recorded meeting was on November 05, 1776. From entries
in Dr. McMillan's diary, the name change from Peters to Bethel occurred
sometime between 1783 and 1788. The cemetery dates to c. 1780.
The Morrows buried in this cemetery relate back to the James or David Morrow
families.
Center
Presbyterian Church
Center Church Road, Peters Twsp.,
Washington Co PA
--On April 16, 1828, at a meeting
of the Ohio Presbytery, members of the Bethel, Bethany, Chartiers and Mingo
Creek congregations requested the establishment of a church for members
living in the Peters Township area of Washington County. Centre Church
was organized on August 29, 1829 and a meeting house was built on the land
of Daniel Bell. The first pastor was Rev. John H. Kennedy who was installed
on June 17, 1831.
Fawcett
Methodist Church
Fawcett Church Road, Cecil Twsp.,
Washington Co PA
originally Fawcett Methodist Episcopal
Church
Lower
Marsh Creek Presbyterian Church/Cemetery
--The cemetery is located a few
miles west of Gettysburg off of Route 116. Turn right onto the Knoxlyn-Orrvania
Road. Then about 1/2 mile and turn right at the sign, down a country
lane that dead ends at the cemetery. The Lower Marsh Creek Church,
founded in 1748, is on down Route 116 towards the town of Fairfield
at 1865 Knoxlyn Road.