Weaverland Mennonite Church
East Earl, Lancaster County, PA
Built in 1894
Above: Weaverland Mennonite Meetinghouse, 1120 Weaverland Road, East Earl, PA.
This Old Order meetinghouse was built in 1894 by a group that separated from the Lancaster Conference. This separatist group was led by Bishop Jonas H. Martin, who was ordained bishop in 1881.
This new meetinghouse was an exact replica of the 1883 stone meetinghouse across the road, which was being used by the parent congregation, the Lancaster Conference group.
Above: A water pump.
Above: A datestone where the stone wall of the 1894 building meets the cement-block wall of the 1966 addition.
Description in Our Present Past (1985)
By the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County:
“Old Mennonite Church, (Weaverland Meetinghouse), Route 897, southwest corner at Weaverland Road; 1894; one story, four bay whitewashed stone church, surrounded by carriage sheds; 1894 cornerstone; built as result of split in Weaverland congregation; 1966 cement block addition; large cemetery.” Our Present Past, page 133, Historic Preservation Trust, 1985.
Above: The church is located on a ridge that has bedrock of dolomite / dolomitic limestone of the Zooks Corner Formation. The nearby valley, north of this ridge, has limestone bedrock of the Buffalo Springs Formation. So the meetinghouse’s building stone could include both limestone and dolomite.
History in Churches and Cemeteries
of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania:
Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Church
Weaverland Mennonite Conference
1893 - Congregation organized during division in denomination
1894 - Present meetinghouse built
Source: Churches and Cemeteries of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, A. Hunter Rineer, 1993, page 127. LancasterHistory
Above: An aerial view shows the location of this Old Order meetinghouse located across the road from its parent congregation. Image source: Google Maps, with labels added.