USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Columbia > Columbia, Pennsylvania : its people-- culture, religions, customs, education, vocations, industry > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
In 1920, Bro. C. Z. Martin and his wife took over the work, and in 1923 he became the first or- dained minister for the Columbia Mennonite Mission. A newly erected building at 291 S. Fourth Street, was dedicated in 1922. This brick edifice had a large auditorium to accommodate the newly established church and his ample liv- ing quarters in the back. These served as a hotel for traveling ministers or layworkers of the
church and also provided storage rooms for clothing and provisions to be sold at a nominal price to the poor.
Several home and foreign missionaries have gone out from this congregation over the years.
FIRST CHURCH OF GOD
In 1869, East Pennsylvania Eldership of the Churches of God decided to begin a mission church in Columbia. Elder W. L. Jones, pastor of the Washington Boro Church, was placed in charge. Elder J. W. Deshong assumed the respon- sibility and a lot at Seventh and Walnut Streets was purchased. The Bethel was begun on July 29, 1878 and dedicated on March 23, 1879. The Elder J. W. Deshong was the first pastor.
In 1886 the church was disbanded and reorgan- ized. Membership increased to sixty. Between 1892-1893 a parsonage was built. On January 11, 1953, the enlarged and reconstructed Bethel was dedicated under the ministry of Rev. R. H. Daihl. In 1957 the basement was excavated and a Youth Department was established. The membership of the Columbia First Church of God has pro- duced one minister, the Rev. William A. Groff, Jr.
ST. PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
Preceding St. Peter's congregation, a group of Catholics banded together under the title "The Roman Catholic Community of Columbia". Be- ginning August 15, 1818, the group met at 414 Locust Street, at the home of John J. Ziegler. The Jesuit Fathers from St. Mary's in Lancaster cel- ebrated Mass and administered the Sacraments.
Lots 83 and 84 purchased for a church in "Co- lumbia Extended", along the Lancaster Turnpike Road, were abandoned as being too far from the center of town. It became a parish cemetery. Later in 1933, when the cemetery was purchased at Klinesville, the site was sold to Harvey Abel to construct an ice plant.
In March, 1828, George Ziegler, John Arms, John McMullen and Dominick Eagle solicited the congregation for funds to build a church. Lot 2 on Union Street above Second was purchased, and a church 45' by 30' was built. Bishop Fravas P. Kewrick of Philadelphia laid the cornerstone in 1828. A school now rests on the site of the first church.
A new church was built during 1894 to 1897 and it occupies the site of the former Wright Gardens.
13
HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH
An influx of German Catholic immigrants into Columbia by the mid 1860's created a need for Catholic sermons in the German language.
By 1856 and 1857 monthly services in German were begun in the basement of St. Peter's Cath- olic Church.
In 1859 Bishop J. P. Neumann of Philadelphia visited Columbia to arrange for the purchase of a plot of ground for the building of what was to be Holy Trinity Catholic Church. He also autho- rized Rev. Mathias Meurer to conduct services regularly in German. The new edifice for wor- ship was built on Cherry Street, above Fourth. Holy Mass was offered in the basement of the structure as the construction progressed.
The cornerstone was laid in 1860 and in 1861 Rev. Charles Schaford was appointed as the first resident pastor of Holy Trinity. Services were every other Sunday. The brick building was com- pleted in 1862 with 48 pews.
In 1863 Rev. William C. Pieper was appointed pastor of Holy Trinity. He was elevated to the rank of Domestic Prelate with the title of Rt. Rev. Monsignor on December 18, 1901 by Pope Leo XIII. Msgr. Pieper petitioned for an assistant and on August 1, 1902 Rev. Peter Gustave Brueggmann came to Holy Trinity.
On August 13, 1911 Monsignor Pieper resigned his pastorship, and he died August 26, 1912. He was succeeded by Fr. Brueggmann.
May 1, 1927 the cornerstone was laid for the new stone church, and on October 6, 1929, it was dedicated.
Fr. Brueggmann's health began to fail and on July 16, 1937 he died.
One son of Holy Trinity, Fr. Francis J. Heltshe, served as pastor of Holy Trinity until his death in January of 1967. Fr. Heltshe was elevated to Monsignor by Bishop George L. Leech.
OLD SALEM
Lutherans and The Reformeds of Columbia have a long history in Columbia that began in 1803 when a need was recognized for worship services in Columbia.
The Rev. G. E. Muhlenberg, D.D., pastor of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Lancaster, led a cru- sade to meet this need and a brick church was built on a plot at 320 Walnut Street. The plot was donated by Samuel Wright. The church was known as the German Evangelical Lutheran Church (Salem), and served as a worship center
for both Lutherans and Reformeds who wor- shiped on alternate Sundays. The German lan- guage was used by both denominations.
By 1854 the Reformeds desired weekly services and sold their interest in the church building to the Lutherans for $600.
Lutheran members of Salem began to leave the folds of Old Salem and instituted churches of their own.
In 1882 Salem extended calls to ministers of the Eden Seminary and later affiliated with the Evangelical Synod of North America.
In 1935 Salem became affiliated with the Lan- caster Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The Rev. John Heater was the first pas- tor of Salem from the Reformed side of the church.
In 1957 it, like Old Trinity Reformed, became a part of the United Church of Christ.
Salem has come to be known as the Columbia Mother of Lutheran Churches, as well as Salem United Church of Christ and Trinity United Church of Christ.
TRINITY REFORMED UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Old Trinity dates from the late 1700's when German immigrants of the Reformed faith set- tled in Columbia. German Reformed and Luth- eran congregations erected a joint church in 1804 at 320 Walnut Street. A charter was granted to the German Reformed congregation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on July 23, 1821 and was signed by 51 lay members. The Reformed and Lutheran congregations held services on al- ternate Sundays until 1853 when the Reformed members decided to build a church of their own and sold their share in Salem to the Lutherans for $600.
In 1881 the name Trinity Reformed was adopted.
Worship services were in Town Hall while an edifice was being erected at Third and Cherry Streets. The cornerstone was laid in June, 1854 but because of the epidemic of Asian cholera the building was not completed until 1855.
In 1957 the name was changed to Trinity United Church of Christ with the merger of the Evangelical and Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches.
GRACE EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL In 1893 a number of Christians from Wrights-
14
ville crossed the river to Columbia to join fellow Christians in Columbia in prayer services.
In 1894 the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical Church accepted Columbia as a mission field and in October a plot of ground at Eighth and Walnut Streets was purchased for $1,960. A chapel was completed in 1897.
In 1905 the church had a membership of sixty and a Sunday School of one hundred. In 1954 Grace Church assumed full responsibility for the pastor's salary. The Rev. D. M. Metzger was the church's first pastor, 1893-1894.
ST. JAMES LUTHERAN CHURCH
St. James Lutheran Church at Tenth and Manor Streets is a child of St. John's. It began as a Sunday School in 1903 with school sessions held in the Susquehanna Fire Hall. Dedicated mem- bers from St. John's served in the school. In 1920 a congregation was formed and with Concordia Lutheran, at Chestnut Hill, became a parish. The first pastor was the Rev. Arthur Getz. Later both churches professed a desire for individual identity. Each church now exists as an individual congregation, and each has its own pastor.
ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH
A number of members of the First English Lutheran Church, in protest over the resigna- tion of the pastor, the Rev. F. W. Staley, with- drew from the church on March 27, 1881.
Plans were immediately discussed for caring for the spiritual life of the group.
In response to a call, 29 primary children and 45 adults met at the home of C. P. Shreiner on April 3, 1881 to discuss plans. On April 8, 1881 at a meeting in St. Paul's Lutheran Church a de- cision was made to organize a congregation to be known as St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Subsequent services were held in St. Paul's, and later in Schuler's Hall.
Eventually ground was purchased on Locust Street above Sixth. Building activity began with members of the new congregation excavating for the foundation. Despite financial setbacks, one the collapse of a bank in which St. John's had $1,500 deposited, the work went on. The first pas- tor, the Rev. Samuel Yingling, was called to serve at a salary of $500 a year. Cornerstone for the building was laid December 11, 1881 and dedica- tion took place October 1882.
The present cathedral type worship center was
built during the pastorate of Dr. A. M. Mehrkam. It was dedicated September 9, 1928 and Dr. Mehr- kam, who served 33 years in two pastorates at St. John's, died December 27 of that year.
A pre-school class of 30 children has been or- ganized by Mrs. Samuel Kauffman and has been operating in regular class sessions.
FIRST ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH
By 1850 German was still used for services at Salem Lutheran, although there were many Co- lumbia Lutherans who did not understand Ger- man. Interest was rising for English services. In 1849 a young minister, the Rev. J. H. Menges of Mt. Joy, preached in English at Salem at stated times with the approval of Salem's pastor, the Rev. Mr. Stine.
Later Pastor Menges moved to Columbia to or- ganize an English church. A tract of land at North Second Street and Alley (avenue) H was purchased. Organization of the church, the En- glish Evangelical Lutheran Church was born in 1851. Pastor Menges became the first pastor of the new church. The church prospered and by 1857 was wealthy enough to buy a melodian for $105.
Through the years discipline was exerted on members for failure to live up to their Christian duties; but despite problems the church pros- pered; services were continued at the North Sec- ond Street address until the mid 1950's when the present Colonial edifice was erected at Fifth and Chestnut Streets during the pastorate of the Rev. Bradley T. Gaver.
ST. PAUL'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH (Misouri Synod)
In 1862 the Rev. J. A. Darmstaetter was serv- ing the Salem Lutheran Church. Due to differ- ences over several social activities, Pastor Darm- staetter, along with several families, withdrew their membership from Salem with the approval of the Synod of Pennsylvania.
For several years after withdrawing from Salem, Pastor Darmstaetter and his flock held services in the parsonage, Trinity Reformed Church and the Washington Institute.
In 1868 it was decided to build a church. The congregation was reorganized, a new constitu- tion was adopted and the name St. Paul's Congre- gation of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession was also adopted.
15
A plot of ground on Locust Street was pur- chased, a building erected and dedicated in 1869. Pastor Darmstaetter died in December 1899, hav- ing served as a Columbia Pastor from 1859 until his death.
In 1901 St. Paul's withdrew membership from the Pennsylvania Synod and was accepted into the Eastern District of the Synod of Missouri.
St. Paul's has been consistent in its compliance to Missouri Synod tenets and is firmly established in the community.
JEHOVAH WITNESSES
In December of 1953, a group of Jehovah Wit- nesses from the Mount Joy congregation formed the Columbia Congregation with 12 publishers. The Columbia congregation met in a building at Five Points until a site was acquired for a New Kingdom Hall at 31 South Eighth Street. At the South Eighth Street site the new buliding was completed and occupied by 1962. The labor for the structure was done by the congregation of 35 publishers.
In 1948 the main auditorium was enlarged to accommodate 148, and a second room, down- stairs, to accommodate 35. This room houses a library and a theocratic school.
The persons associated with Jehovah Witnesses are referred to as publishers rather than mem- bers due to the house-to-house nature of their preaching.
FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH
The First Assembly of God Church, Route 441, Columbia, Pennsylvania, was chartered in 1939 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The church is affiliated with the national denomina- tion known as the Assemblies of God with head- quarters in Springfield, Missouri.
The First Assembly of God Church was born as a result of spontaneous home prayer meetings. After special meetings in the town opera house, the congregation moved to a local hall in 1932 to begin its regular services. In September of 1939 a former bank building was purchased to pro- vide a place of worship. While meeting in this facility, the congregation was able to rid itself of debt and purchase and pay for a newer parsonage for its pastor. The congregation voted unan- imously, in March 1971, to sell its building. With this money, a two acre plot of new property was purchased on Route 441 north of Columbia, on which to build a new edifice.
July of 1973 the congregation entered its new church building. The brick structure was built primarily with volunteer labor.
ST. PAUL'S BAPTIST CHURCH
This congregation, organized for many years here, is located in a permanent home at 297 South Fifth Street, erected under the pastorate of Jesse Singleton, now deceased. Regular ser- vices organizing date was not available.
ASHLEY TABERNACLE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST
Organizing date for this tabernacle was not available, but it has been in existence, at its present location, 275 South Fifth Street, for a long period of time.
ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Bishop Alonzo Potter, on October 13, 1849, offi- ciated at the laying of the cornerstone of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, then located at the cor- ner of South Second Street and Avenue "I", Co- lumbia. The building was completed in the early part of 1850 and on Tuesday, May 28, 1850 the church was consecrated. The Rev. Dwight E. Ly- man was the first rector of the parish.
In the 1880's, St. Paul's parish had several mis- sion churches which included St. Philip's in Mountville and the Church of the Ascension in Safe Harbor. A lay reader from St. Paul's also conducted services at Colemanville Forge. The Columbia parish also was instrumental in estab- lishing St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Manheim.
When the parish outgrew the small church structure on South Second Street, ground was secured for a new structure on Locust Street be- twen Third and Fourth Street and on September 29, 1886, the services of the laying of the corner- stone were conducted by Bishop Howe, The new church was completed in 1887 and was formally consecrated on January 25, 1888.
When, in the early 1900's, the Diocese of Cen- tral Pennsylvania was split into two parts; the northeastern part of the state became the Dio- cese of Bethlehem, while the Columbia church became part of the Diocese of Harrisburg. There was another name change to the diocese in 1970, when it reverted once again back to the name, Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.
The stone structure known as the "North Memorial Parish House", which adjoins the church, was dedicated on January 25, 1910. Many
16
older Columbians still recall the basketball games that were played in the basement portion of the parish house building.
The Memorial Chapel of the Holy Communion was opened in the basement of the church build- ing in 1932.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Services for Presbyterians in the area were con- ducted in 1803 by The Rev. Colin McFarquhr of Donegal Presbyterian Church and by the Rev. Robert Cathcart of York.
Unable to obtain funds to build a church build- ing, there was no regular preaching until 1806 when the Rev. Nathaniel H. Snowden of Lancas- ter began to preach every third Sunday at ser- vices held sometimes in the Methodist Church, a stone house near the canal or in private homes.
Rev. Snowden ordained three Ruling Elders, William P. Beatty, Moses Montgomery and James Graham, who administered the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to 22 communicants on August 30, 1807.
An edifice for worship was needed and a lot at Fourth and Locust Streets was purchased from Henry Withers for $600.
A small brick church was built, and dedicated, (Continued on page 55)
SCHOOLS
Prior to the Revolutionary War there were no schools in Wrights Ferry.
Children of educated families were taught in the home by parents, relatives or by an itinerant school teacher who boarded in the homes.
The first attempt to establish a school of higher learning occurred in 1800 when Robert Patton opened a boarding school for boys in the brick meeting house of the Friends. Students boarded in nearby homes.
A citizen's group formed a corporation in 1807, which built the town's first schoolhouse off Third Street in an alley between Locust and Cherry Streets. Land for the "Columbia School" was pur- chased from Samuel Wright for the sum of One Silver Dollar. To support the school, fifty shares of stock costing ten dollars each were made avail- able. Thirty-three shareholders took advantage of the opportunity. Each share entitled the sub- scriber to send one student to the school. Non- subscribers could enroll their children at a cost of two dollars per quarter.
School life was rugged. Hard, wooden benches
-
Washington Institute - Former High School
and the inevitable hickory stick for wrong-doers were the order of the day. A part of their tuition money supplied wood for the fireplace. The teacher's life was no less rugged. School records of 1832 contain an instance in which a teacher severely punished a student for misconduct. The student left school but returned later in the af- ternoon with his father. An argument between the teacher and the father resulted in the School's being closed for several days, while the teacher recovered from the wounds inflicted by a rawhide whip wielded by the father.
This school flourished for a while but in 1832 the stockholders planned another school on Cherry Street, large enough to accommodate two hundred fifty children. This plan failed and the original building was abandoned.
By 1838 the stockholders reorganized and opened the building, adding a second story to it. Until the building was reopened, a series of pri- vate schools, begun about 1800, was the only available education.
Among select schools was one opened in 1812 to prepare young men for college. One opened by Miss Lydia Hutton, at Cherry Street and Lancas- ter Ave., a Quaker, in 1825 was for poor children. Miss Hutton was paid by several of Columbia's wealthy citizens. For twenty-five years, starting in 1818, a Mrs. Claiborne taught in a school on Locust Street and one at Front and Walnut Streets.
A Columbia select school for young ladies was established in 1833 by a Miss Ely on Second Street between Locust and Walnut Streets.
About 1835 select schools were becoming things
17
of the past. In 1834, the Common School Law was passed by the State Legislature. This law provided a uniform system of schools for the Commonwealth. Opposition to the law caused Thaddeus Stevens to deliver an inspiring speech in support of it, and so the Legislature let it stand. Among the first in the county to imple- ment the new law were the town of Columbia and West Hempfield Township.
In 1854 the board of trustees of the Old Colum- bia Public Ground Company purchased land on the north side of Lancaster Avenue betwen Lo- cust and Cherry Streets and erected Washington Institute at a cost of $8,640. The school limped along through a period of depression. But, by 1863, the increased enrollment of pupils forced the school to seek larger quarters.
To accommodate the growing number of stu- dents and to consolidate the six separate school buildings in town, the Borough opened the Cherry St. school in 1863. This building contained eighteen classrooms and provided space for two thousand pupils. The Union School, as it was called (later Columbia High School) was modeled after a high school in Philadelphia and was con- sidered the largest and finest school building in the state. Cost of the erection of the school was $16,000. Student life now was not quite so rugged as before, and students had time to enjoy them- selves. The first graduation took place in 1873 when two of the thirty pupils completed the pre- scribed three-year academic course consisting of United States history, algebra, natural philos- ophy, astronomy, geometry, trigonometry, rhe- toric and composition. There were no elective courses. A student took the prescribed course or left school.
The two eligible graduates, Lillian Welsh and Harriett Mellinger were subjected to public ex- amination by the board of school directors on three successive afternoons. Their diplomas were awarded in a classroom of the Cherry Street school. The first public commencement was held the following year.
In 1876 the high school and grammar school moved from Cherry Street into the Washington Institute, which now became the Columbia High School. A year later, the working man's inability to pay taxes necessitated the reduction of the school term to eight and one-half months.
The years, prior to the turn of the century, saw many changes taking place in the school. For the first time textbooks were provided for the stu-
dents. No longer were they to pay for their own. A separate grammar school was built near the high school building. The scholastic standing of the school placed it on the accredited entrance list of colleges and universities. Vaccination was required of all school children. A Latin-Scientific course, music and art were added to the curric- ulum. By 1908 the high school had a four-year course of study.
In 1916 the cornerstone of what is now Park School was laid. This addition to Washington In- stitute was erected by the Old Columbia Public Ground Company at a cost of $75,000. A voca- tional training course in the commercial and business fields was added. The years following World War I brought increased interest in the extra-curricular activities. Clubs, bands, and orchestras were formed. A glee club, a school newspaper and a yearbook were added. Sports and dramatics became popular. By 1930, boys who wished to pursue a trade could enroll in wood and metal shop courses. Homemaking courses for girls came in 1940.
Enrollment doubled every decade from 1870 until 1930. School had become more appealing to the students who now had a choice in their pro- gram of study. School spirit seemed to grow along with the curriculum and enrollment. Mary Y. Welsh wrote the words to the Alma Mater in 1904 and set them to music of the Eton Boating Song.
A competition held in 1927 led to the adoption, as the official school seal, of a design created by Paul Hoffer Sload for the class seal of 1920. Im- printed on the diplomas, the seal incorporates three virtues - knowledge, strength and friend- ship.
An annex was built in 1958 to the building of Park School. The complete building consisted of Washington Institute, the Sixth Street grammar school, the 1916 addition facing Lancaster Av- enue, the 1938 addition on Sixth Street and the 1958 addition extending to the rear of the Cherry Street side of the 1938 building.
An auditorium capable of seating 800 people and an enlarged library were features of the 1944 addition. Lockers replaced the cloakrooms. The former grammar school building housed the art, homemaking and industrial arts courses. Stu- dents selected from five courses instead of the one available in 1873. Appropriately, the school was dedicated to Mary Y. Welsh, honoring her fifty years of service in Columbia schools, thirty- seven of which were spent as principal of the
18
high school. A memorial plaque in the building reads: "Reader, if you seek a monument, look about you". On May 12, 1957, the dedication of a new high school on Kinderhook Road took place. The new structure included a spacious gymna- sium and a modern auditorium. It housed a four- thousand volume library.
Within one year of the opening of the new high school, the building where the first graduation took place was destroyed. On January 23, 1959 a fire temporarily closed the Cherry Street school. Three months later, a one hundred thousand dollar blaze brought almost total destruction to the old building.
The years have brought many additions and changes in the high school program. A vast array of electives have replaced or supplemented the required courses. Seniors choose from a total elec- tive program in the fields of English and social studies. The addition of a class piano laboratory and the organ have enhanced the music program. Girls interested in athletics now compete in in- terscholastic contests in tennis and hockey. Some students spend half of the school day at county vocational-technical school in which they learn practical skills, formerly provided only in post- graduate training.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.