Mercersburg Historical Society

Mercersburg and the surrounding area have both reflected and affected our national history in its people and events.

People of Interest

John McCullough

Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer (1725 - 1776)

Robert McClellan (1770? - 1815)

William Magaw (1744-?)

Physician and soldier in several Pennsylvania regiments during the American Revolution
Personal physician of General Layfayette during the Battle of Brandywine in 1777
Jesse Magaw, his son, also a physician

William Findlay (1768- 1846)

Joseph Hiester (1752 -1832)

Jane Irwin Harrison (1804 -1848)

Wife of William Henry Harrison Jr.
Hostess in the White House in the Presidency of William Henry Harrison in March 1841

Elizabeth Irwin Harrison (1810-1850)

James Buchanan (1791-1866)

Harriet Rebecca Lane (1830- 1903)

Niece of James Buchanan
Hostess in the White House in presidency of Buchanan from 1857- 1861
Philanthropist as Harriet Lane Johnston
- Donor of money for the Harriet Lane Clinic for Invalid Children, now the pediatric section of Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Donor of money for establishment of St. Albans School in Washington, D.C.
- Donor of art for national collection

Michael Cromer (1827- 1893)

Feat of cutting 12 1/2 acres of wheat from sunup to sundown on one day in July 1858
Blade of cradle five inches wide and sixty-five inches long
Cradle manufactured by Millard Fillmore Manufacturing Co., Claysville, New York

The blades are 5 in wide x 65 in long.

Jonathan Blanchard (1811-1892)

Native of Vermont, member of the American Anti-Slavery Society
Young abolitionist whose presence in Mercersburg in 1837 caused a riot
Later president of Knox College and first president of Wheaton College, both in Illinois

John Williamson Nevin (1803 - 1886)

Professor of Theology in the Theological Seminary of the German Reformed Church located in Mercersburg
Originator and proponent of the Mercersburg Theology
Author of many works explaining the Mercersburg Theology

Dr. Philip Schaff (1819 -1893)

Professor of Church History in the Theological Seminary of the German Reformed Church
Author of many works explaining church history
Author of " The Gettysburg Week" first published in Scribners Magazine, vol.l6, issue 1, July 1894

The Rev. Captain John Steel (1744-1812)

Pastor, 1752-1756
First installed Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague by Donegal Presbytery.
Built the stockade-style Fort at Church Hill and commissioned as Captain by Governor Morris.

The Rev. John King, D.D. (1740-1813)

Pastor, 1769-1811, Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague.
Revolutionary War Chaplain
Friend and mentor to President James Buchanan
He performed the Marriage for President Buchanan's parents and baptized all the Buchanan children.
He began the church’s records.
He is buried at the entrance to the Church Hill Cemetery.

The Rev. David Elliott, D.D. (1787-1874)

Pastor, 1812-1829, Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague.
He performed the Baptism for President Buchanan's niece, Harriet Rebecca Lane.
He founded the Franklin County Bible Society and was present at the founding of the American Bible Society in New York in 1816.
He also served on the board of trustees of his alma mater, Dickinson College, between 1827 and 1829.
In 1837 he was moderator at the Philadelphia General Assembly that split the church between New and Old Schools; but he lived to see and take part in the exercises at the reunification of 1870.

The Rev. Thomas Creigh, D.D. (1808-1880)

Pastor, 1831-1880, Presbyterian Church of the Upper West Conococheague.
Created the Pastor’s Register in 1836, compiling all known church records back to 1769.
Compiled and published the first history of the church in 1877.
Board of Regents of Marshall College.
One of the Founders of Wilson College.
He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Mercersburg, PA

Places of interest

James Buchanan State Park, site of birthplace of James Buchanan
The Lane House in Mercersburg, privately owned
Fort Loudoun
Witherspoon's covered bridge in Montgomery Township off Anderson Road
Hays stone-arched bridge in Montgomery Township on Anderson Road
Buchanan cabin on the campus of Mercersburg Academy
Graves of Three Confederate Soldiers in Fairview Cemetery in Mercersburg
Zion Union Cemetery in Mercersburg, site of burial of 38 Civil War veterans including 13 veterans of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry with Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission marker
Markers at entrance to the campus of the Mercersburg Academy indicating sites of Marshall College (1835- 1853) and the Theological Seminary of the German Reformed Church (1836- 1871)
Spring Grove Cemetery, site of burials of James Buchanan's parents and Harriet Lane's parents, on road to Lemasters off route 416 at top of hill in south end of Markes

Events of Interest

Jeb Stuart's raid on October 10, 1862
Other multiple Civil War raids
Use of buildings as hospitals from July 5 to July 9, 1863, during Lee's retreat from Gettysburg

Education and Religion in Mercersburg

Mercersburg Theology

Theology developed in the mid-nineteenth century in the Theological
Seminary of the German Reformed Church located in Mercersburg by John Williamson Nevin and Philip Schaff