A history of the town and church, as written by congregational member Larry Harpster:
The Town: Pine Grove Mills
In 1791 Thomas Ferguson purchased land and laid out the town, sold lots cheap. In 1800 he was the first to dam Slab Cabin Run and built the first mill, a grist mill and later a saw mill. A grove of pine trees separated the grist mill from the saw mill, hence the village’s name. Later,other saw mills and a plaster mill were built, all using the water power from Slab Cabin Run. From 1810 to 1818, Tussey Furnace, an iron furnace, also used the power of Slab Cabin Run for power to run its bellows.
The East end of town was laid out by John Patton in 1815 and called it Pattonville. The entire town went by this name and appears as such on some early maps. The post office opening 1809 was always known as Pine Grove Mills, and the entire village eventually reverted to Pine Grove Mills (PGM).
The Church
In the early 1800’s there was no church in the village, or nearby. Presbyterians had to travel to what is now Lemont to the Spring Creek Presbyterian Church. This was a long trip back then. Some local groups met in the homes of members.
1831
Fhe Presbyterians, German Lutherans, and the German Reformed Presbyterians joined together to purchase land on which to build a common use meeting house. One acre of land was purchased for $50.00. This one acre of land now contains our building, the cemetery and the now Anglican Church nexdt door. We Presbyterians, being good business people, owned half of the land while the other two entities owned a quarter share each.
1832
The Union Meeting House was built. A square wood framed building that was used for church services, on a rotational basis by the three entities, a common Sunday School, town meetings and the village school.
1834
Families living in and around PGM and were connected to the Spring Creek Church in Lemont, petitioned the Huntingdon Presbytery to organize a separate church in PGM.
1835
19 members from the Spring Creek Church were received into the new church. This was the “Official” beginning of the Pine Grove Presbyterian Church. (Note, there is no “Mills” in the church’s name) For the next 26 years, the three congregations meet in the Union meeting house.
1855
The Presbyterians began construction on this building on the west end of the original acre lot, and later sold their interest in the Union Meeting Hall. Joseph Ward was the contractor and David Reed did the masonry work. The bricks came from a kiln on the McWilliams farm on Rt. 45 between Pennsylvania Furnace and Graysville. All structural timbers were hand hewn and finished lumber likely came from a water powered mill off of Slab Cabin Run. Lighting was from two large chandeliers each having 13 Kerosene burning lamps and suspended from the ceilings. Completed in 1857, the building cost $3,600 (approximately $131,000 today).
1880
A reed pump Organ was purchased.
1914
The church was wired for electricity, replacing the kerosene lights.
1921
The Primary Room or “little room” as it came to be known, was constructed by Wm. Ward from part of the furnace room at a cost of $385.00.
1926
A major remolding project to the sanctuary took place. The arch was installed and the entrance way to the stage through the closets. The choir was seated behind a low rail and curtained area behind the pulpit, which was on a stage that extended into the sanctuary. The contractor was Charles Lauck and the plastering was done by H.L. “Buss” Harpster. Additionally, a new entrance to the balcony was added and the “graining“ of the wood and trim was done, the grain patterning tools are still here in the church. New pews, the current pews in the church, were installed with work being completed in 1927.
That stage was the spot where generations of little kids had to reluctantly recite parts for countless Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Children’s Day presentations.
1951
Oil heat was installed – a conversion unit into the coal furnace. Some of these conversions didn’t always work too well, and this lead to a furnace explosion in the early 1950’s. A few of us still around were in the Primary Room on that Sunday morning and it was quite exciting for a bunch of little kids.
1952
Plumbing and the kitchen. I can remember my Dad and others digging the ditches for water and sewer by hand in the parking lot.
1954
Paul Stevens built and donated the pulpit, the hymnal holders on the pews, and other fixtures to the sanctuary. Paul owned the farm just west of town where the Lutheran church now resides. He was a very skilled craftsman.
1955
The Sunday School was getting very crowded. It was not unusual to have 100 plus folks in attendance as the baby boomers were coming of age. There were numerous classes: women’s class, the young women’s class, of which ladies were reluctant to move out of, admitting they were no longer young, the men’s bible class, and a youth class or two.
The congregation agreed to build an addition on the east side of church containing three rooms divided by room dividing curtains. Dave Barto, a neighbor of ours on Tadpole Rd., was the carpenter. Members of the congregation volunteered labor. Rumor had it that a few bones were found while digging the footer as the addition was quite close to the cemetery. A real quiet reburial was made soon after.
Marshall Harpster, my Dad, and Charles “Chap” Harpster, my uncle, did the latheing and plastering. I was “helping” my dad nail rock lathe and I missed the nail and the hammer went through the rock lathe leaving a rather large hole. My Dad was pretty good about it, and told me they could just fill the hole with the base coat of plaster. The addition was completed in 1956 at a cost of $4,141.00.
June 1958
Fire destroyed the East side closet in the sanctuary. Luckily a neighbor saw the smoke and called the fire company. Rumor had it that kids, sneaking into the church and smoking caused the fire but details were scarce. We are very lucky the building is still standing today.
Also in 1958, the Men’s Bible Class replaced the old clear windows in the sanctuary with the colored glass windows we have today. These windows being the one thing Carl and Jill Campbell didn’t find too appealing when they first came to our church. After forty years I understand they did get used to them. That same year a new Hammond organ was placed in the sanctuary.
1959
The Men’s Bible Class erected a sign board in front of the church. The Men’s Bible Class, at times taught by my Grandfather, Charles Brouse, did a lot for the church in those years, including cooking of Turkey dinners, a tradition that went on for many years.
March 1962
The stage was removed and the pulpit was moved back into the choir arch and the organ and the choir were moved to the balcony. This is pretty much how the church sanctuary has looked for over 60 years now.
1966
The old furnace was replaced with two new furnaces. The arrangement we have now.
1969
Session agreed to go ahead with plans for a church office.
In more recent years concerns over an aging congregation lead discussion of how best to convey people to the sanctuary. Several ideas were explored such as a “stair crawler” that climbed the stairs with a person aboard. Doing away with the east set of stairs and installing an elevator. Finally, the best idea, a tower on the southwest side of the building with an elevator to the closet on the west side of the sanctuary. This also gave us an emergency exit with a set of fire proof stairs to the parking lot. Lack of this type of emergency exit had also been an ongoing concern.
2023
Air conditioning / heating heat pumps were installed in the sanctuary to help regulate heat.
Our Neighbors
Our nearest neighbor, the Union Cemetery, was included in the one acre purchase of 1832. The first burial was in 1832, an infant child of the Kreps family. The last burial was in 1914, Julia Fritz Musser. There are 429 grave stones. In the late 1920’s all the stones were removed, keeping the family groups together, the area was then plowed, leveled and reseeded. The stones were then put back in even rows to facilitate mowing.
The Lutheran now Anglican Church
As we Presbyterians built our new church, the Lutheran and Reformed congregation tore down the old Union Meeting House and built a new church. The Salem Church was dedicated in 1858.
The Reformed congregation split from Salem Church and built their own church on the East end of town in 1888. This church building remains today as a private residence.
After the separation of the two churches, the Lutherans named their church Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church. They remained in the building until 1988 when their new building was built on the west end. Saint Alban’s Anglican Church took over the property in 1988.
The Pine Grove Mills Methodist Episcopal Church, across the street from the Lutheran Church, was built in 1859 and services were held there until the 1940’s. It was sold in 1946 and converted to apartments which it remains today.
The Presbyterians and the Lutherans got together for various activities. In the 1950’s the two churches held mutual summer Bible School in the Ferguson Township School building. Hundreds of kids attended over the years it was held.
Our Neighbor to the West is now the Duplex house of Nevin and Beverly Corl.
In 1851, the “Friends of Intelligence, Morality and Religion” made up of prominent and influential men of the area decided that Pine Grove Mills was place for an academy of higher learning. From 1852 until 1856 the academy was in several temporary locations until the new two story building was built on the west of the Pine Grove Presbyterian Church.
The Pine Grove Academy and Seminary remained in operation until 1897 and schooled 650 students some of which went on to be doctors, lawyers, governors, legislators and prominent businessmen. After closing, the Ferguson Township School Board purchased the building and used it for both elementary and high school building until 1932 when the new consolidated school opened across the street.
In 1941, Luther Peters bought the old academy building and tore it down, reportedly using some of the lumber to build the duplex house there today.
The picture is from early on in the life of the church, though the exact date is unknown.
