Furnace Chapel

Furnace Chapel. 639 East Market Street. , In June of 1888, George and Margaret Miller Mable, with the help of Reverend George M. Hickman, organized the Vesta Mission Sabbath School at the east end of Marietta. At that time, Vesta, Donegal and two Marietta furnaces were in full operation. The families, who depended on these furnaces for employment lived in company dwellings near by and attended the "Furnace Sunday School." As interest grew, it was decided to erect a chapel, and a cornerstone for this building was laid on Sunday, 22 July 1888. The chapel stood on a small parcel of land along the north side of the old road to Columbia. The original site is now in the middle of the intersection of PA Route 441 and East Hazel Avenue. In 1914, Mrs. Marinda Stahl Grove purchased the lot at 639 East Market Street and contributed the greater part of the funds to move the Vesta Sunday School from its Watts Station location. A second cornerstone was laid at this present site on East Market Street, and the English Presbyterian Church moved the building. Since then, it has been known as "Furnace Chapel." The many uses of Furnace Chapel over 123 years include a Sunday School, an antique shop, Opehlia Horn's Restaurant, The Chapel Day Spa and now a private residence. Great care has been taken to preserve many of the building's unique architectural features., Candlelight Tours of Marietta 1966 to 2015. James C. Landis, Historic Marietta, Pa , In 1803, David Cook laid out and sold lots in the eastern end of present-day Marietta that he called New Haven. The following year, 1804, James Anderson IV, who operated Anderson's Ferry, laid out and sold lots adjacent to Cook's in the western end that he called Waterford. These two developments were incorporated in 1812 to form Marietta Borough