The Union Church and Burial Ground (also known as the Old Mud Church) is an historic, American church and cemetery that is located on East Presqueisle Street in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. The church and cemetery were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978.

History and notable features

A log meetinghouse was built in 1820 by the fifty-seven residents of Philipsburg for a cost of $343. The building was used both as a school and as the community's first church, open to all Protestant ministers. In 1842, the building was extensively rebuilt as a Gothic-style,

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church with a three-story entrance tower added to the front, a chancel added to the rear and the log walls of the meetinghouse incorporated into the main sanctuary. A rough mixture of plaster and clay stucco covers the church giving it its common name of the "Old Mud Church." Hardman Philips had donated much of the money to rebuild the church and intended to make it an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

Church. After a lengthy lawsuit, the church continued to serve many denominations, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists. The last regular religious use was by Free Methodists during the early 1920s. The building has also been used as a local museum. The cemetery is surrounded by a three-foot stone wall and contains a 330-year-old

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

known as the "Founder's Oak." The oldest grave dates to 1819. The church and cemetery were added to the

in 1978. It is located in the Philipsburg Historic District.

Gallery

File:Old Mud Church HABS 1935.jpg, Rear of the church in a 1935 photo from the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

References

External links

Historic American Buildings Survey
3 photos, 7 drawings and 2 data pages

3 interior photographs
Find a grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Church And Burial Ground Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival church buildings in Pennsylvania Churches completed in 1820 Churches in Centre County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Centre County, Pennsylvania