St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
Call 610.944.0406
About Us - Our History
The original church was built in 1841. This artist's rendering was created in the early 1900s. The church was razed in 1959.
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Around 1840 - Local residents started a movement in the small rural Pennsylvania community of Coxtown and surrounding townships of Richmond, Maiden Creek, and Ruscombmanor to build a conveniently located union church for both the Reformed and Lutheran congregations.
1841 - Two acres of land on a site between Coxtown and Walnuttown were purchased from Benjamin Hoch for $40. Construction began with the laying of the cornerstone, which is on display on this site today. The cost to build the simple stone church was $3,000.
​​1859 - The congregation purchased an organ built by Samuel Boehler, Reading, Pa., at a cost of $800. People flocked from miles around, many by train, to hear the new organ. (Around the late 1900s, the organ was rescued from a barn, restored, and is still in use at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fleetwood.)
1859 - The East Penn Railroad line was being completed along the rear of the church property around this time, which would fuel industrial growth for generations.
1873 - Railroad authorities named the new railroad station "Fleetwood." Town leaders incorporated this growing community as the Borough of Fleetwood, retiring the name Coxtown.
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1883 - The cornerstone is laid for a new chapel on North Franklin Street near Main Street to serve all the Christian denominations in the community. Over time, the St. Paul's Union Church was holding all their services there and maintaining the building.
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1887 - Jacob Rothermel sold land to the church to build sheds for horses and carriages.
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1893 - Joel Wartzenluft sold two acres to the church, which greatly increased the size of the cemetery. (Mr. Wartzenluft's presumed final resting place, an impressively tall and elaborate grave marker, can be found in the "old section" about halfway up the slope on the far left.)
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1911 - The union congregation added a two-story annex to the 1883 chapel to support a growing Sunday school program.
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By 1921 - The aging St. Paul's union church needed a costly heating system upgrade, so both congregations started worshipping at St. Paul's Chapel instead. They continued to use the original 1841 church for spring, summer and fall communions, confirmations and special services until the late 1950s.
1934 - The Reformed congregation merged with other churches to become St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church.
1936 - The St. Paul's Chapel was renovated to include installation of a Charles F. Durner organ from Allentown, Pa.
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A beautiful bride poses in the chapel in 1954
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Oct. 24, 1954 - The Ladies Aid Society conducted a Dissolution Service. Both congregations had been fundraising for construction of separate churches to accommodate their growing memberships.
1957 - The Lutheran congregation moved into their newly constructed St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church at Arch and Laurel Streets. Also that year, the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ. The name of our church changed to reflect that union and became St. Paul's United Church of Christ.
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March 9, 1958 - Our congregation held dedication services for our completed, beautiful stone church at the corner of Arch and Green Streets.
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1959 - The 1883 St. Paul's Chapel and 1841 Union Church were demolished. The former site of the chapel would become a new post office, which had been operating out of the First National Bank in Fleetwood. Today, the grassy site of the original church features a small monument displaying the 1841 and 1883 cornerstones.
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St. Paul's United Church of Christ sometime after dedication in 1958
The Rev. J. Paul Kehm officiates a wedding in the St. Paul's UCC sanctuary in 1960.
The education wing, built in 1970, enabled the church to greatly expand its youth program.
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1970 - The church continued to grow, and youth ministries needed more space. The St. Paul's congregation embarked on a mission to add more Sunday school rooms and office space by constructing a new two-story education wing (pictured above).
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1976 - The St. Paul's Preschool forms and begins preparing youngsters for kindergarten. The preschool is still going strong today.
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1987 - Continued growth in congregational membership resulted in a project to construct a choir room and youth room downstairs and a narthex, lounge, rest rooms and nursery above. A new, small elevator connected the sanctuary to the social room and other lower level spaces.
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2010 - Our congregation embraced a new mission after the purchase of a 2-bedroom home next door to the church. The New Beginnings House provides temporary housing to one family at a time who needs a hand up to get back on their feet.
2017 - St. Paul's UCC became an Open and Affirming congregation.
2020 - As the COVID pandemic caused churches and businesses to close their doors temporarily, we embraced social media and technology by live streaming worship services for the first time.
2022 to 2024 - A team of 26 members from both the UCC and sister Lutheran congregations preserved the old section of the St. Paul's Church Cemetery. They cleaned 500 limestone and granite gravestones and then leveled and repaired more than 100 of them. This effort coincided with Fleetwood's 150th anniversary celebration in 2023.
Today - As we look to the future, the members of St. Paul's United Church of Christ remain active in sharing God's love within our community and beyond. Our mission to spread God's love far and wide continues!
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