Union Church and Burial Ground

Also known as: Old Mud Church
607 E. Presqueisle St., Philipsburg, PA

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Photo taken by Brian Manville on April 24, 2018

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Coordinates:
+40.89794, -78.21724
40°53'53" N, 78°13'02" W

Quadrangle map:
Philipsburg

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Description

A log meetinghouse was built in 1820 by the residents of Philipsburg. The building was used both as a school and as the community's first church, open to all Protestant ministers.

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."

The last regular religious use was by Free Methodists in 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 is dated 1819.

National Register information

Status: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1978
Reference number: 78002365
Architectural style: Other architectural type; Gothic Revival vernacular
Areas of significance: Exploration/Settlement; Architecture
Level of significance: Local
Evaluation criteria: C - Design/Construction; B - Person
Property type: Building
Historic functions: Religious structure; Cemetery
Current functions: Religious structure; Cemetery
Periods of significance: 1800-1824; 1825-1849
Significant years: 1820; 1842
Number of properties: Contributing buildings: 1
Contributing sites: 1

Union Church and Burial Ground

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