Chester County Stone Church an Historic Site

The Chester County Historic Preservation Network had their annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner at the Grove United Methodist Church at 490 West Boot Road in West Chester, PA. It was a great chance to meet Historic Commission members from all over the county and hear about their successes establishing preservation ordinances to preserve historic homes and businesses. We also had a chance to hear a little about this historic congregation, said to be one of the earliest Methodist churches in the state.

The original school and church was a log building from the early 1700’s.Then another larger church was built, to be later replaced by the present serpentine stone church from around 1900. It was built on the “Akron Plan,” popular at the time. This was an auditorium form worship space (the "rotunda") surrounded by connecting Sunday school classrooms spaces on one or two levels. The plan promotes efficiency of movement by congregants between worship and Sunday School. The plan was first used in 1872 at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio.  The age of the site was testified by the expansive graveyard and ancient gravestones.

Puzzled by historic homes? Trying to purchase historic homes? Trying to sell an historic home? Contact Carolyn Roland, Your Older and Historic Homes Resource.