February 28th, 2024

Iron Works Wednesday, January 24, 2024 -- Curtin Methodist Church and Cemetery. Location 305 Curtin Road, Howard, PA 16841 (Published on our FACEBOOK page every Wednesday. Visit Facebook for more photos.)

The Methodist Church at Curtin has a very long and distinguished history. By 1787, six members of its earliest congregation met as a Methodist “class” in the nearby log home of Philip and Susanna Antes. These six members were: Philip Antes and wife, John S. Bathurst and wife, and Christopher Helford and wife. By 1791, circuit riders preaching the gospel came every two weeks, and in 1792 this small congregation, which in the coming years would include other familiar names such as Barnhart, Lee, Miller, Lipton, Jacobs, Holt, and Watkins, received its first pastor.


On January 21, 1806, Philip Antes and his wife, deeded one-fourth of an acre of ground to six persons who served as trustees, Richard Gonsalus, Frederick Antes, William Forester, Lawrence Bathurst, Abel Daugherty, and Philip Antes, in trust to erect a house of worship. In addition to these individuals, other members of the church were Christopher Helford, Philip Barnhart, Jacob Lee and their families.

Early church records indicate that construction of the “Bald Eagle Chapel” actually began in 1804 prior to receiving the deed for the land, and dedication of the building occurred one year later in 1805. Based on written accounts, it appears that the building was of log construction with one double entrance door and five windows containing 101 panes of glass.

By 1810, Roland Curtin Sr. and Moses Boggs had established Eagle Forge along Bald Eagle Creek downstream of Philip Antes’ Gristmill. Soon after, just a short distance south of “Bald Eagle Chapel”, Curtin added Eagle Furnace in 1818 and a rolling mill to his expanding operation in 1830. By then Philip Antes had moved further west to Clearfield County and sold his land to Roland Curtin permitting further expansion of the Eagle Iron Works to include a Workers’ Village, boarding house, a large, 1831, Federal-style mansion, Pleasant Furnace in 1848, a company store, and a circa 1870 manager’s house. By 1865, this bustling community was serviced by The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad that extended from Tyrone to Lock Haven and a passenger and freight station was constructed. No doubt the increasing population of Curtin Village contributed toward the need for a larger house of worship beyond what the 1805 log church could serve.

The present-day Curtin Methodist Church was dedicated in 1872 and continues to serve its Methodist congregation 237 years after those early beginnings. Church services are held every Sunday.
Old Curtin Cemetery, also known as United Methodist Cemetery, was founded in conjunction with the church. It contains 134 known burials; the oldest of which appears to be 1815 for the infant grandson of Philip and Susanna Antes. However, of the surviving stones, there are few prior to the 1850s. Of the nearly 200 Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Centre County, two find their resting place here, Lawrence Bathurst (1757-1845) and Evan Russell (1760-1838).

The monument in front of the cemetery reads, "In memory of Philip and Susanna Antes, in whose log cabin near here, the first Methodist Episcopal Society in the Territory of Centre County, of the Little York and Juniata Circuit, was formed July 1787 by Rev. David Combs, Circuit Rider. Erected by Friends and authorized by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission."

The location of Antes Mill, now gone, is recognized on the Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village Self-Guided Walking Tour, available adjacent to the parking lot in front of the Roland Curtin Mansion, 251 Curtin Road. The site is open year-round, dawn to dusk, for self-guided tours. Online donations are appreciated for the preservation of Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village at www.curtinvillage.com.

Sources:
Berkheimer, Charles, F. “The Origin of Bald Eagle Chapel”, an address delivered August 18, 1963, at the Curtin Methodist Church Homecoming Celebration.
Various church members who contributed footnotes and addenda to the 1963 speech include: Rev. Almon D. Baird, Mrs. Mary Shultz, Mrs. Stewart Pletcher and Mrs. Edgar Stitt.
Linn, John Blair. History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1883.
Find-A-Grave Curtin Cemetery in Curtin, Pennsylvania - Find a Grave Cemetery
Stover, Nancy. “Centre County American Revolutionary Soldiers and Patriots”. Centre County PAGen Web Project Centre Co. (PAGenWeb), PA.---American Revolution Soldiers & Patriots

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