Rockyside
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The Black Stone Church

Rockyside, also, The Black Stone Church. . , Rockyside. Rockyside was a community of mining and brick making families who lived on the steep hillside just north of New Cumberland along what was then Route 66. The early brickyards attracted workers, many of them Poles or Slavs, who came to work in the clay mines and the brickyards. In 1850, a large wooden barracks was built on the hillside to house 200 single men who worked nearby. As more brickyards attracted even more workers, the Mack Company built a series of single and duplex family homes. There were also spring houses, outhouses, and small gardens for the families to use. In 1904, a Catholic Church was built, and a schoolhouse soon followed. Three teachers taught students in all eight grades. The school closed in 1938, and students were sent to school in nearby New Cumberland. During the 1930's and 40's, families began to move into town, and by 1950, the hillside was abandoned. The area once known as Rockyside was purchased by the department of highways, and in 1959 the community and its structures were plowed under in order to build a new highway. Route 66 was gone forever, replaced by Route 2. The hillside is now covered with trees and briar bushes which conceal several partial brick remains of homes and the old school. What was once a small, close-knit community is gone forever, but it remains an important part of local history., The Black Stone Church. Built in 1887 and dedicated in 1889, the Presbyterian Church replaced the former brick church building New Cumberland that was built in 1855. The new building was made of native white sandstone from Luke's stone quarry on nearby Hardin's Run Road. Its stones were fitted together by hand so well that they required very little mortar. The first pastor, Reverend Smith F. Grier, served the congregation for 40 years. Between 1904 and 1908, a pipe organ was installed, assisted by a gift from Andrew Carnegie. In 1930, a stone manse was added next to the church, and in 1938 a basement was added which provided a kitchen and meeting rooms. The upstairs auditorium was converted into classrooms in 1962, the same year that the basement was remodeled into Fellowship Hall. Carillon Chimes were added in 1973 and were dedicated to Dr. Swaney, whose trust fund helps to support the church. In honor of its first pastor, the church dedicated the Smith F. Grier Museum in 1998 to preserve the history of the church for future generations. The church remains a vital part of the community and celebrates its heritage every spring with an outdoor concert and a "calling of the clans.' It is a member of the Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and has welcomed twenty-one different pastors over its more than one hundred year history. The original sandstone has been blackened by time, but the beautiful church remains an important local landmark.