Bethel Presbyterian Church is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church located in

Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Bethel Park, officially the Municipality of Bethel Park, is a borough with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, located approximately southwest of Pittsburgh. The pop ...

. It operates under the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. denomination under the

Synod of the Trinity Synod of the Trinity is an upper judicatory of the Presbyterian Church headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The synod oversees sixteen presbyteries covering all of Pennsylvania, most of West Virginia, and a portion of eastern Ohio. History ...

and the Pittsburgh Presbytery. The adjacent cemetery holds the remains of 14 Revolutionary War soldiers from the area. The municipality of

Bethel Park Bethel Park, officially the Municipality of Bethel Park, is a borough with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, located approximately southwest of Pittsburgh. The po ...

was named after the church. John McMillan portrait 1820s

The church was founded by Rev. John McMillan, the first

missionary west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

, during his third missionary trip. The origins of the Bethel Presbyterian Church date to November 5, 1776, when McMillan preached and baptized 5 children at Peter's Creek. Early services were held at a log house owned by Oliver Miller. The Peter's Creek congregation grew and later split into an Eastern Division and the Western Division. In 1785 or 1786, the Eastern Division was renamed Lebanon and the Western Division was renamed Bethel. In 1808, Oliver Miller's son James added a stone section to the right of his father's log house and in 1830 he and his son Oliver replaced the log house with a new stone section , now known as the

Oliver Miller Homestead The Oliver Miller Homestead, site of the James Miller House, is a public museum that commemorates pioneer settlers of Western Pennsylvania. It is located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania's South Park south of downtown Pittsburgh in South Park ...

. A number of members of Bethel Presbyterian Church played roles in the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

. On July 15, 1794, shots were fired as federal officers served a warrant on William Miller, a Bethel church member and the last man that day in Allegheny County to receive a warrant for failure to register his still, the first violent event of the Whiskey Rebellion. After that incident, a crowd gathered. Reverend Clark, McMillan's successor, tried to dissuade the band: Clark's pleas was ultimately unsuccessful, and the group advanced upon General John Neville's house, burning it to the ground, a confrontation known as Battle of Bower Hill. The modern incarnation of the church was officially incorporated on March 11, 1907. The current building was completed May 1910. In 1951, the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

erected a

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

, noting its connection to Rev. John McMillan and its historic importance.

References

{{Whiskey Rebellion Cemeteries in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania Churches in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 20th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States 18th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States