Kinderhook Evangelical Congregational Church - Columbia, PA
N 40° 03.077 W 076° 29.910
18T E 372181 N 4434524
Way out in the middle of nowhere, several miles from highway 30 is this beautiful, brick 150+-year old church. This small, country church also has an old, spooky cemetery up on a hill across the street.
Waymark Code: WMA3KV
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 11/10/2010
Views: 4
With a decent-sized children center off to the right, this seemingly small church apparently serves a much greater need to the community. I loved the quaint bell tower over the left side. The bell is clearly visible and there is plenty of room to walk around all four corners. It is topped off by a pyramid roof. The tower bottom is white with railing, all around. The base of the tower is brick. The cornerstones says it was built originally built in 1852 and then more was built in 1917, probably the addition to the left. The cornerstone is a gray block of stone, dates written on both exposed ends, in front of the entrance and to the right.
The church is made of brick with a centrally large, Gothic-arched stained glass window in front. To the right is the unusual addition of what appears to be a residence attached to the church, seamless, yet non-religious-structure. I also noticed one other unusual feature of this church, a basement.
The church and its congregants are undoubtedly German immigrants, as are most of the other congregations in this area from the mid 19th century. The church is in a very rural, isolated area. I found it while on a long winding road traveling toward two covered bridges in Lancaster County. All I saw was vast farm land, large farm houses, live stock and rolling hills. There is nothing around for miles!
There is of course no information about this church anywhere to be found on the internet. It is like it does not even exist.