Pequea Presbyterian Church
Gap, Lancaster County, PA
Built in 1834 and 1902
Above: Pequea Presbyterian Church, 273 Cambridge Rd, Gap, Pennsylvania. On the right in the photo is the older church strucsture, built in 1834. The large addition, on the left, was added in 1902. Both structures have the same building stone: dolomitic limestone / dolomite.
The Session House
Built in 1836:
Above: The congregation built this Session House in 1836 to hold business meetings. The building later served various uses, including a Sunday School and a pastor’s study. The building’s walls are of dolomitic limestone / dolomite which has more color variation that the dolomite of the church building. The stone’s brown coloration presumably results from iron oxide in the stone.
Above: The church is on right, before the 1902 addition. The Session House is on the left. The first congregation was mostly Scots-Irish immigrants. Image source: LancasterHistory.
History in Churches and Cemeteries
of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania:
Pequea Presbyterian Church
1724 - Organized and first minister was assigned.
ca. 1724 - First log church was built.
ca. 1750 - Second church was built.
1741 - 1757 - New Side / Old Side schism in the denomination. Pequea Church aligned with the New Side. Old Side adherents met in the nearby dwelling which later became the church sexton’s house.
1738 - 1750? - George Whitefield preached regularly to large crowds in the churchyard under the trees.
1834 - Present church was built. Remodeled in 1901 / 1902.
Source: Churches and Cemeteries of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, A. Hunter Rineer, 1993, page 386. LancasterHistory
The Church’s Building Stone
Dolomite / Dolomitic Limestone:
Above: This dolomite / dolomitic limestone has a harder composition than calcerous limestone. Dolomite is less absorbent and is less affected by freeze-thaw cycles than Lancaster County limestone of the Conestoga Formation. This dolomite also is more resistant to acidic erosion.
The Church on a Geology Map
Dolomite of the Ledger Formation:
Above: Image source: PaGEODE map. (Church icon added)
Description in Our Present Past (1985)
By the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County:
“Pequea Presbyterian Church” Cambridge Road, west of Kaufroth Road; 1750 /1834 / 1902; two and one-half story, three bay T-shaped stone Second Gothic church; Gothic arched windows; built c. 1750, enlarged in 1834; present church built in 1902, incorporationg old structure; 1836 one story, three bay Session House used as pastor’s office.” Our Present Past, page 308, Historic Preservation Trust, 1985.
The Session House in 1945:
Image Source: Sunday News, April 25, 1948. LNP Archives.