AREA HISTORY:  Stewartstown, York County, PA

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History of York County, Pennsylvania.  John Gibson, Historical Editor.
Chicago: F. A. Battey Publishing Co., 1886.
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THE BOROUGH OF STEWARTSTOWN – Page 752-753

This beautiful and interesting town is located in the southern part of Hopewell, and was named 
after Anthony Stewart, who in 1812, purchased a tract of land on which most of the town is 
built.  In 1814, David Edgar made a survey of Stewart’s land and laid out nineteen lots.  
Benedict Meads about the same time opened a store and tavern, and the new town was for a time 
called after him, though its founder earnestly desired to have that much coveted honor.  A 
number of mechanics purchased lots and successfully plied their respective trades, whereupon 
the name of Mechanicsburg was suggested.  This again greatly disconcerted the founder.  In 1825 
the people of the vicinity held a meeting in order to lay plans to secure the establishment of 
a postoffice, and decided to call it Mechanicsburg.  The department at Washington named the 
office Guilford, and appointed Anthony Stewart, postmaster.  He was commissioned December 19, 
1828.  Some time before 1840, the name of the office was changed to Stewartstown.  The village 
was incorporated by act of legislature, March 29, 1851, as the “Borough of Mechanicsburg.”  
This displeased Anthony Stewart, who secured the passage of a supplementary act, February 24, 
1853, changing the name to Stewartstown.  Benedict Meads the first storekeeper, lived on the 
east side of the main street, in the next building south of what is now Hartman’s store.  
Anthony Stewart, the founder was a good mechanic himself and made a great many of the old time 
spinning wheels.  He turned his attention to astronomy and natural philosophy, and was somewhat 
of an inventive genius.  A fine marble monument costing $400, was erected to his memory in the 
cemetery to the rear of the Presbyterian Church.  He was born in 1788, and died in 1866, aged 
seventy-eight years.  He was an albino.

During the early history of Stewartstown, it was not by any means a temperance town, but there 
has been no public house licensed to sell intoxicating drinks within its limits for nearly a 
quarter of a century.

Some of the postmasters who succeeded Anthony Stewart were Jacob Forman, Agnes Fulton, Mrs. 
Green, James A. Grove, William Hartman and J. C. Hammond.

A new impetus to the growth and prosperity of the town was given it in 1885 by the completion 
of the railroad from this place to join the Northern Central railway at New Freedom.  The 
opening of the road was celebrated at Stewartstown, with great ceremony, September 10, 1885; 
about 3,000 people were present.  The road is seven miles long and cost $65,000.  Col. W. W. 
Stewart and J. S. Gilt, were the civil engineers.  James Fulton is president of the company; J. 
W. Anderson, vice-president; A. G. Bowman, Andrew Anderson, Andrew Leib, John B. Gemmill, John 
Wiley, John Marsteller, William Hammel, Jacob Althouse, J. Y. Keeney, M. W. Bahn and James C. 
Jordon, directors.

General stores are kept by James Fulton & Son, W. W. Hartman, C. C. Prall; bookstore, by J. C. 
Hammond; tinware and stove store, by E. H. Redding; drug store, by J. H. Fulton; physicians, J. 
L. Free and J. R. Martin; notary public, J. E. Green; canning factories, Col. Jordan and S. 
Gable; lumber yards and planning-mills, R. M. Richey and Hoshour, Dise & Co.  A number of 
business places have recently been opened, and the future prospects of the town are very 
encouraging.


THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH – The early history of this church is connected with the “Union 
Associate Church of Mechanicsburg.”  At a meeting held October 22, 1839, it was determined to 
erect a church to be used by different Christian denominations.  The first vestry consisted of 
Henry Anstine and Samuel Baird, to represent the Methodist Protestant denomination; Gen. 
Archibald Steele Jordan and Henry Fulton, the Presbyterian; Joseph Leib and Jacob Waltemeyer, 
the Baptist, and Adam Ebaugh and Michael Kurtz, the Reformed and Lutheran.  Deeds for the land 
were executed by George Anstine and wife, William Griffith and wife and Henry Ebaugh.  On this 
land, which cost $45, a house of worship, which is still standing, was built, at a cost of 
$1,200.  Benedict Meads was the largest contributor, $50.  Judge Ebaugh who, at that time, was 
a member of the State senate, received some valuable contributions to the church form his 
fellow members.  This building continued to be used by several denominations for a number of 
years.  In 1844 Rev. Stephen Boyer, of York, organized the Presbyterian congregation with David 
K. Ebaugh and Archibald Thompson, as elders.  Some of the first members were James Anderson, 
James Smeaden, Dr. Henry Ebaugh, Miss Jane Jordan (afterward Mrs. Dr. Free), Robert Gemmill and 
James Jordan.  The last two became elders.  Rev. S. Hume Smith became stated supply of the 
church June 17, 1845, and became full pastor June 21, 1851.  In 1848 the membership was thirty-
eight.  The pastor died February 4, 1857; he was a graduate of Jefferson College and a very 
efficient clergyman.

Rev. J. Y. Cowhick became a supply of this church, and May 29, 1859, was ordained and installed 
pastor, and continued as pastor of the Hopewell and Centre Churches until 1873, when he 
resigned the Hopewell charge.

The congregation continued to worship in the Union Church until 1862, when the present brick 
building was erected, for which two acres of land were conveyed by Nicholas Richey for $105.  
The church land was conveyed to Robert Gemmill, Levi Zellers, William Fulton, Henry Fulton, 
Henry Hammond, David Anderson and Dr. John L. Free, trustees.  Robert Gemmill contracted to 
build the church for $2,400, but was a loser.

In June, 1875 Rev. J. Y. Cowhick resigned his charge and became pastor of a church in Cheyenne, 
Wyoming Territory.  Rev. J. M. McGauchy, a young man from Princeton, was the successor, and was 
ordained and installed November 4, 1875, and began a series of meeting lasting five weeks, 
during which time fifty new members were added to the congregation.  After a term of three 
successful years, Rev. McGauchy accepted a charge at Laramie, Wyoming Territory.

January 5, 1879, Rev. W. H. Fentress, of Baltimore became a supply, who, at the early age of 
five years had lost his sight.  Rev. H. B. Scott, was installed pastor in 1879, and served 
until September, 1882.  The present pastor is Rev. A. S. Fox.  He is a graduate of Bethany 
College, Virginia, and of Yale Theological Seminary.  The church has recently been repaired, 
and is now a neat and attractive building.  It was dedicated October 29, 1885.  (The author is 
under many obligations to Prof. J. A. Murphy for the facts in the history of this church.)


THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH – The first services of this church, 1833, were held in the 
dwelling house of John Leib, and afterward in a schoolhouse, about one mile south of the town, 
near the site of Col. Jordan’s canning factory.  It was originally called “Hopewell Methodist 
Episcopal Church,” and the house of worship built of logs stood below the town, at the present 
burying ground.  The ministers who served this congregation during its early history, belonged 
to the Castle Fin Circuit, and their names will be found in the sketch of Lower Chanceford, in 
this work.  Of the first members, Mrs. Catharine Gable and Mrs. Barbara Bowman are still 
living.

In 1872 the present Methodist Episcopal Church was built at a cost of $11,000, and the old 
building below town was torn down.  Revs. John E. Lloyd and E. A. Deaver were then the circuit 
preachers, followed by Revs. J. M. Clarke, J. Russell, Asbury Geyer, H. R. Bender, B. F. 
Stevens, N. W. Colburn and P. P. Strawinski.  Church membership, 120; Sunday-school membership, 
200 pupils.


ZION METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH – This church is located about three miles east of 
Stewartstown, was built about 1845.  The Methodists of this congregation originally belonged to 
the Stewartstown Church.  This now has a membership of sixty-five and a Sunday-school of 
eighty-five pupils.

There is a Methodist Episcopal Church near Cross Roads Postoffice, which also belongs to the 
Stewartstown Circuit.

There is also a Methodist Protestant Church in Stewartstown.