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Source: Betty Colmery, History Committee Chair, GVPC 300th Committee
Date: 2010
A congregation was in existence at Great Valley in 1710. How long before that is unknown, but the first public reference to it was in the Minutes of Philadelphia Presbytery on September 20, 1710. In the beginning the members met in the woods or in homes. The first church building was made of logs and erected in 1720. During the 1777-78 Valley Forge encampment the log church had been standing for 57 years! The site of it is north of where the old vault building now stands and it is marked by the grave of Thomas Hutchinson who asked to be buried beneath it’s pulpit. The members contributed the material for the log church and most of the labor. It was constructed of unhewn logs, notched at the corners, and the cracks filled with coarse clay mortar. The roof was covered with shingles split and shaved in the woods. The floor was hard clay. Except for the window glass, the material was all hand made, even the nails. Since there was no provision for heating, the women took heated blocks of wood or stone to church with them to keep their hands and feet warm. The log church served the congregation for 73 years.
The cornerstone for a new wooden second church was laid on May 20, 1793, on the very same day that President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the Capitol in Washington D.C. It was located on the site of the third church and was built with donations of grading, landscaping and materials from members. Only the shingles were purchased. There were four wood burning stoves located in the corners of the room. The aisles were covered with mortar and the ornate pulpit was elevated above the congregation. The church was dedicated in 1794 and the “upping block” used for mounting horses was built which still stands in the parking lot just inside the fence along Swedesford Road. The second church served for 97 years.
In 1795 the Session House was built on the site of the current Chapel. In addition to being the meeting place for the Elders and Trustees, it was used as a public school for a few years. Later it was used as a Sunday School, and was torn down in 1868.
The colonial style Chapel was built in 1868 on the site of the Session House. It was later used for worship while the second wooden church was torn down and replaced by the third stone church. In 1891 the Chapel was enlarged. The connection between the Chapel and the sanctuary known as Dickerson Hall was built in 1927. Between 1952 and 1956, the members excavated beneath the Chapel to provide additional Sunday School space.
The new gothic design stone third church was dedicated on May 8, 1890. It had a seating capacity of 300. New walls of blue limestone were built on the old foundation. While the men did not furnish the labor for the new church, they did a lot of the work on the grading and landscaping.
A Christian Education building, designed by architect William T. Allison, was built on the site of the carriage sheds which were located to the east of the church, built in 1832 and destroyed by fire in 1947. The new CE building was dedicated on April 10, 1960.
A major enlargement of the church was started in 1967. Some graves had to be legally and carefully moved. Every effort was made to retain the original architecture, and the renovation increased the seating capacity in the sanctuary to 560. It was dedicated on November 24, 1968. The offices and Fellowship Hall were also added that year.
A major enlargement of the Christian Education facilities took place in 1980 by adding 15 additional classrooms, a new library, a Sunday School office, choir rehearsal rooms, a new crib room and a women’s lounge. The dedication was held on November 9, 1980.
The 2006-07 renovations upgraded the lower level classrooms, rest rooms and Fellowship Hall, upgraded electrical, security and fire alarms, added a commercial quality kitchen and provided an elevator to make the entire building wheelchair accessible.
Today, as Great Valley prepares to celebrate its 300th anniversary, marking the beginning of our fourth century of ministry, we honor the traditions of our founders while seeking to be sensitive to the changing world around us. Through all those changes, however, Great Valley Presbyterian Church continues to be “an historic church exalting the historic message.”
Betty Colmery
History Committee Chair
GVPC 300th Committee
Great Valley Presbyterian Church
Time Line Addendum to History of Buildings
The Log Church (1720-1793 – 73 years)
The Second Church (1793-1890 – 97 years)
The Session House (1794-1868)
Carriage Sheds (1832 – destroyed by fire in 1947)
The Chapel (1868)
The Third Church (1890-1968 – 78 years)
Church Enlargement (1968)
The Christian Education Building (1960)
Christian Education Enlargement (1980)
Church Improvements (2007)
References: The Great Valley Presbyterian Church by Ruth Moore Styer, TEQ 8-1 (November 1953); Early Memories and an Historical Sketch of Great Valley Presbyterian Church by Emily Wilson Nassau, TEQ 14-4 (October 1967); The Wilsons and Great Valley Presbyterian Church by Eleanor D. Chworowsky, TEQ 22-4 (October 1984); Great Valley Presbyterian Church by Mary Robertson Ives, TEQ 22-4 (October 1984); Great Valley Presbyterian Church by Mary Robertson Ives, TEQ 32-1 (January 1994)
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