This stone Gothic Revival church sits on the site of houses of worship shared for well over a century by combined German Lutheran and German Reform congregations. A simple log structure built in 1762 was replaced in 1821 by a large brick meetinghouse. However, as both congregations continued to grow, they separated in 1893, with each building a new church. The Lutherans’ elaborate and more mainstream church was designed by German-born Dempwolf of York, Pennsylvania, where he designed the first of many churches, St. John’s German Lutheran (1874). St. Mary’s features a corner tower with slate-shingled spire and an open belfry with Dempwolf’s signature mark. A cross-gable section features a tripartite stained glass window to the front, with trefoil-arch pattern exposed framing resembling German timber-framed Fachwerk to the rear. The auditorium-style interior features a vaulted ceiling supported by exposed trusses.
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ST. MARY’S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
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