Newville in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Big Spring Presbyterian Church

American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Site

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., May 21, 2009

1. Big Spring Presbyterian Church Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Original log meeting house was erected 1737 near the Big Spring. Church was fully organized, October 1738. Present stone structure was built 1789, and in 1790 the trustees laid out Newville as a town on the church-owned glebe.

Erected 1985 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. (Marker Number 197.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Churches & Religion • Colonial Era • Notable Buildings. 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 1737.

Location. 40° 10.368′ N, 77° 23.841′ W. Marker is in Newville, Pennsylvania, in Cumberland County. Marker is on Corporation Street, on the left when traveling south. Marker is between Glebe and Big Spring Avenues. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Newville PA 17241, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Revolutionary War Soldiers Buried in Big Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery (within

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shouting distance of this marker); William Denning (within shouting distance of this marker); The First National Bank of Newville (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Newville War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Laughlin Mill (approx. 0.2 miles away); Newville Trolley (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Byers-Eckels House (approx. 0.4 miles away); First United Presbyterian Church and Manse (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newville.

Regarding Big Spring Presbyterian Church. Big Spring Presbyterian Church 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 unknown).

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

"Father" Thomas Craighead began supplying congregations in Cumberland County in 1736. Craighead had a call to Hopewell
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., May 21, 2009

2. Big Spring Presbyterian Church Marker
(Big Spring) in 1736, and was installed as pastor in 1738 when he organized this church, the third Presbyterian congregation in Cumberland County. In a service at the close of April 1739 Craighead pronounced the benediction and dropped dead in the pulpit. His grave is under the cornerstone of the present limestone and brick building, erected in 1790. The congregation met first in the home of James Mcfarlane, and then built a log meeting house in 1738, 200 feet south of the present building.

Big Spring Presbyterian Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., May 21, 2009

3. Big Spring Presbyterian Church

Credits. This page was last revised on August 28, 2018. It was originally submitted on June 2, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,284 times since then and 91 times this year. Last updated on August 24, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 2, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.