East Hanover Township near Palmyra in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Hanover Church

American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Site

Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

1. Hanover Church Marker

Inscription. About two miles north is the site of this pioneer Presbyterian church founded in 1736. First pastor was Richard Sankey. In the graveyard are buried many first settlers and veterans of frontier wars and the American Revolution.

Erected 1947 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. (Marker Number 121.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Churches & Religion • Colonial Era • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the American Presbyterian and Reformed Historic Sites, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1736.

Location. 40° 22.32′ N, 76° 39.042′ W. Marker is near Palmyra, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County. It is in East Hanover Township. Marker is at the intersection of Laudermilch Road (U.S. 22) and Pennsylvania Route 743 on Laudermilch Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2045 Laudermilch Rd, Grantville PA 17028, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Hanover Resolves (approx. 0.6 miles away); Fort Manada (approx. 2.3 miles away); Union Canal (approx. 4 miles

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away); Blue Mountain Forts (approx. 4.3 miles away); Indiantown (approx. 4.4 miles away); Lindley Murray (approx. 4½ miles away); Meet the Mother Tree (approx. 5 miles away); Original Hershey Rose Garden (approx. 5 miles away).

Regarding Hanover Church. Old Hanover Presbyterian Churchyard is one of 445 American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Sites registered between 1973 and 2003 by the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS), headquartered in Philadelphia. Approved sites received a metal plaque featuring John Calvin’s seal and the site’s registry number (PHS marker location on one of the stone monuments in churchyard).

The following text is taken from the Presbyterian Historical Society website:

This walled graveyard is the site of the 1736 log meeting house where the former Hanover Presbyterian Church met. This location may have been where the Hanover Resolves of 1774 declared "in a close union of the Colonies lies the safeguard of the liberties of the people." The church's first pastor, Richard Sankey, left in 1759. The Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania sent Robert Annan to preach in 1762, elected elders in 1767, and offered a call from Hanover to John
Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

2. Old Hanover or "Manada" Presbyterian Churchyard
Murray in 1774. During May and June of 1774, when the Hanover Resolves were written, the Associate ministers William Logan, James Proudfoot, and John Smith preached in the Hanover meeting house. The second and last church building to occupy this site was torn down about 1875.

Hanover Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

3. Hanover Cemetery

Hanover Cemetery Plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

4. Hanover Cemetery Plaque

In memory of the 44
veterans of the American Revolution
who lie buried here
Officers
Col. William Allen • Col. John Rogers • Major John Barnett • Lt. Andrew Rogers • Lt. James Rogers • Ens. William Stewart
Soldiers and Patriots
Joseph Allen • James Andrews • John Barnett • Thomas Barnett • Thomas Bell • James Byers • John Byers • William Campbell • George Crain • Richard Dearmond • Robert Fleming • Samuel Fleming • John French • James Graham • John Hampton • Isaac Harrison • Dr. Brice Innis • Thomas Kennedy • James McClure • William McCormick • James McCreight • John McElhenny • Thomas McElhenny • Robert Porterfield • William Rogers • William Simonton • Benjamin Snodgrass • John Snodgrass • John Sterrett • Samuel Stewart • Robert Sturgeon • Samuel Sturgeon • David Todd • James Todd • Andrew Wilson • Samuel Wilson • William Young
This tablet erected May 30, 1999
by the Harris Ferry Chapter
Sons of the American Revolution

Hanover Presbyterian Churchyard Wall Restoration image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

5. Hanover Presbyterian Churchyard Wall Restoration

Within these walls lie the bodies of some of the first settlers of
East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, as well as veterans
of the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812
and the Civil War

Hanover Presbyterian Gravemarkers image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

6. Hanover Presbyterian Gravemarkers

Photographed By John Robinson, April 19, 2010

7. Hanover Church Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 30, 2010, by John K. Robinson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 2,310 times since then and 47 times this year. Last updated on August 24, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. Photos: 1. submitted on May 30, 2010, by John K. Robinson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 2. submitted on May 30, 2010, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on May 30, 2010, by John K. Robinson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.