Fairview Church

Fairview Church. Perry County Bicentennial. , The township's population was much larger in the 19th century than it is today, with many of the 2,000 residents engaged in farming, tanning, milling, timbering, and other industries. The church was used from 1857 until just after World War II, when the dwindling population forced the congregation to move its services to other locations. In 1975 the United Methodist Church Conference approved its transfer to the Historical Society. Since that time, the Society has undertaken restoration of the interior and the facade of the exterior. At least one service is held at Fairview each year. A highlight is the annual Christmas candlelight service, with the old woodstove and lanterns still illuminating the one-hundred-sixty-year old interior., Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church in Toboyne Township was constructed in 1857 on 36 perches (approximately acre) of land. The church trustees had purchased the land for twenty dollars from Ephraim McLaughlin, a Scotsman, and owner of a nearby tannery and also a church trustee. All materials for construction were obtained locally-with foundation stone gathered from the nearby Conochocheague Mountain, brick made onsite near Sherman's Creek, and timber sawn and milled at local mills.