{"nrhp_refnum":"85001482","name":"Donegal Presbyterian Church Complex","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Donegal Springs Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"East Donegal Township","county":"Lancaster County","state":"PA","lat":40.10126367600006,"lon":-76.56627827381953,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-07-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["European","Exploration/Settlement","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A church complex in East Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, centered on a stone Presbyterian church built in 1732, with a 1958 educational wing, a cemetery, a study house, a Witness Tree, a war memorial and a spring.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church was one of the earliest Presbyterian church buildings in the Pennsylvania backcountry and became the headquarters of an early western judicatory. It states that Scots-Irish congregation members used the church as a meeting place during the Revolutionary War, and that the Witness Tree tradition of pledged loyalty is associated with the site.","narrative":"Stone church, cemetery and related buildings in rural western Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, built by Scots-Irish Presbyterian immigrants. The church was built in 1732 with rough-hewn stone walls and a gambrel roof, and its design followed the parent church in County Donegal, Ireland. It was remodeled in 1851, when the chapel was realigned and a narthex was created. The cemetery holds more than thirty graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, along with the grave of Reverend James Anderson, the congregation's first full-time minister. Nearby, a white oak called the Witness Tree marks the legend that Colonel Alexander Lowry rallied local men there in 1777 before they joined Washington's army. The 1810 William Kerr Study House and an 1899 sandstone war memorial also stand on the grounds. The complex is significant for its role in early Presbyterian church organization and in the patriotic traditions of the local community.","period_of_significance":"1732-1850","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"The church is in excellent condition and unaltered at the original site, with a 1958 addition; the study house was apparently restored in 1976.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.335057-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85001482.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001482/313b29c295-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001482/313b29c295-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donegal_Presby_Old_n_New_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donegal_Presby_Old_n_New_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995329","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donegal_Presbyterian_Church_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5295617"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/donegal-presbyterian-church-complex-85001482/"}