The temperatures are above freezing. I even heard a rumor that we could exceed 40 degrees tomorrow, which after last week feels like a prospective heat wave.
This is one of those blog posts that I have sincerely looked forward to writing ever since I collected the marker. But I knew it was going to be one that required a lot of attention and care, because of the sheer amount of information that was available just at the site alone, and I've been saving it for a week when I could devote myself to it properly.
It seems that this is the week. So join me for a trip back in time almost three hundred years, to meet some of the Cumberland Valley's earliest European transplants and to visit what must be one of the loveliest and most historic churches in the commonwealth. My apologies to my mobile readers, because this one will be a little heavy on the images. As always, you can click on any image to see a bigger version of it.
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The marker stands at the entrance to the church
grounds on Silver Spring Road. |
The story of Silver Spring dates back to the early 1700s, when immigration from Europe to what they called the New World was beginning to be a more common thing. Because William Penn promised complete religious freedom, Penn's Woods was a popular choice among a variety of different faiths. The Cumberland Valley became the destination for many pioneers and, for whatever reason, many of these were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. They were commonly called "the people over the Susquehanna," because they crossed the dangerous river to find this picturesque valley.
Two of these were a couple named James and Hannah Silver, who settled a farm on the outskirts of what eventually became Mechanicsburg. The farmland included a beautiful natural spring. While not necessarily silver in color, or at least no more than most water, it became known as Silver Spring after its owners. (Originally it was Silver's Spring, but let's be honest, it sounds pretty much the same.) For them and their neighbors, this seemed the ideal place to gather, socialize, and enjoy the fresh spring water, and they began doing so in autumn of 1734. They built a small log house on the site for the purpose, and it was in this that the early congregation worshiped for fifty years. In 1747 they added a burying ground, which came in quite handy when the Revolutionary War began a few decades later.
In 1784 the tiny log church gave way to a larger building, constructed in a style the church's website describes as "simple yet exquisite", which they called the Meiting House (spelling theirs, as you can see here in my photo of the original dedication stone). Over the next two centuries, it underwent a number of alterations to both the inside and the outside, including a number of additions to increase their facilities; but in essentials it has remained the same. To this day, the congregation still worships in that same building, which was restored to its original appearance back in 1929 thanks to the generosity of the McCormick family.
I want to spend a little time focusing on the churchyard, because it's a huge part of the church's history. The earliest graves, as I mentioned, date to 1747, and belong to John Hamilton and William McMeen. In 1798, concerned about the graves being disturbed by wild animals, the burial grounds were enclosed with a stone wall, which still stands today, although it was expanded in 1848. Two entrance gates were later added; the big one, in the east wall was constructed in 1914 through a joint effort by the local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of 1812. On the left side of the gate is a plaque identifying the 24 Revolutionary War graves found within; on the right is a similar plaque listing the graves of those who fought in the War of 1812. In 1927, this smaller gate was added to the south wall in memory of the Rev. Dr. T.J. Ferguson, who was the church's pastor for fifty years.
In addition to the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the churchyard is the final resting place for veterans of the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and both World War I and World War II, as well as later conflicts. To aid genealogists in locating their family members who might be among the honored dead, the church has helpfully published a detailed burial directory, as well as a brochure about some of the more notable names who rest there. This includes a short tale of forbidden love and resulting murder, which took me very much by surprise! Both PDFs are available free of charge on the history page at the official church website, along with a video presentation about church history.
The church grounds are extensive. My husband Kevin and I must have spent nearly two hours exploring the whole thing; it was late in the afternoon, so the buildings were all closed, but the grounds are open from dawn to dusk. The congregation has helpfully provided a large number of signs to guide visitors around the property, including a map indicating where to find various plaques and pieces of information. The signs tell more about the Silver family, about the church's role in the Civil War, about various points of natural interest along the walking trail, and about the church's Peace Garden, pictured here. They are among the more than 250,000 locations throughout the world which have erected
Peace Poles, as a symbol of their hope for peace among all people. (Other locations I've featured on this blog which have Peace Poles include
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County and
Grace United Methodist Church in Harrisburg, which just received their Peace Pole in October 2024.)
Like most churches, Silver Spring had to make a bit of an adjustment to the way they worship during the 2020 pandemic. Since then, they have offered their weekly sermons online via YouTube or, in more recent years, on their website. The congregation is undoubtedly looking forward to their 300th anniversary in less than a decade, and with their various outreach programs and deep community involvement, might well anticipate continuing for many years to come.
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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