Our History
Early 20th century view of St. John’s Episcopal Church
There has been an Episcopal presence in Bellefonte since 1825 when Episcopalians began meeting in a cabinet shop, then later at the local Masonic lodge. In 1837, the Reverend George W. Natt became the first rector of St. John’s “Protestant Episcopal Church,” whose first home was a wood-frame structure behind the Centre County Courthouse. The grey-stone church that is St. John’s Episcopal Church today, built in 1871 in Gothic revival style, is the last church in Bellefonte still to have its spire.
St. John’s and its rectors have been instrumental in establishing other Episcopal churches and missions in the area, notably Lock Haven and State College; it is the “Mother Church” in Centre County. Throughout its nearly one hundred-eighty year history, St. John’s congregation has included many community leaders, including the early leaders of Penn State. Today, while maintaining its liturgical centered worship, St. John’s prides itself on its diverse membership and on its community outreach and service to Bellefonte and its surrounding area.
Beginnings
The Episcopal Church in Bellefonte owes its early beginnings to the work of the Rev. Robert Piggott, who, in 1825-1826, made the journey from Lewistown, where he was rector of St. Mark’s, to visit Mrs. Harriett Wilson and her sister, Mrs. James Gregg, recently of York, PA. With local encouragement, services were frequently held in Mr. Armour’s cabinet shop.
By 1828, the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania recognized the potential in Bellefonte and assigned a missionary to the churches of Bellefonte, Phillipsburg, and Huntingdon. The distances were great for that period, and yet the fledgling worshiping communities in these places grew. Three years later, a Bishop’s Council was organized at the Bellefonte church to continue the mission.
In June 1837, Bishop Onderdonk sent the Rev. George Washington Natt, a recent graduate of the newly opened General Theological Seminary in New York City, to St. John’s, and within a year a church was built on Jail Hill (High Street). St. John’s was presented for admission into the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania in 1838 and was formally received as a “parish in good standing” at the 1839 diocesan convention.
The Rectory
St. John’s Episcopal Church
The need for a rectory to house the priest and his family prompted Major W. F. Reynolds – who had also donated the land for the church and paid for the construction – to have built the house next to the church on Lamb Street. This structure remains in use by the rector. Major Reynolds gave the house as a thank offering and presented it to the parish in November 1877. The parish hall was built and dedicated 30 years later in 1907.
Rectory
Under the leadership of the Rev. James Laverty, rector from 1863-1868, work was begun at the “Agricultural College,” now Penn State University. That work was continued by the rectors of St. John’s until 1911, when St. Andrew’s in State College called their first rector.
Early records show that the women of the parish requested to have steam heat put into the building in 1884. That same year, “The Edison Electric Illuminating Company” build their second electric plant in the state at Bellefonte and proposed to install electric lights in the church for $40. It was only after the insistence of W. S. Zeller and E. Garman that the motion was passed by the vestry.
St. John’s Today
St. John’s has known a rich and varied history. Today it stands not only as a reminder to the faith of our ancestors, but as a vibrant, active parish with a keen eye to the future, dedicated to reaching out to the community and serving the people of Bellefonte. St. John’s has been, and remains, an altar-centered, liturgical church, striving to make Christ known through worship, service, and evangelism.
Historical Documents
Plain Sermons on Personal Religion by the Rev. G. W. Natt, 1867
The Rectors of St. Johns
The Rev. Carlos de la Torre, 2019 – 2023
The Rev. Christopher Vinton Pyles, 2010 – 2017
The Ven. Canon Daniel Lee Selvage, 1991 – 2009
The Rev. John George McIntyre, 1986 – 1990
The Rev. David Scott Robinson, 1980 – 1985
The Rev. Canon Joseph Yates Seville, 1974 – 1979
The Rev. Harold Alfred Emery, Jr., 1968 – 1973
The Rev. Harold Harrison Hayes, 1964 – 1968
The Rev. Clarence Carl Reimer, 1949 – 1964
The Rev. Alfred Whitney Church, 1945 – 1949
The Rev. Vernon Alban Weaver, 1944 – 1945
The Rev. Francis Paul Davis, 1942 – 1944
The Rev. Herbert Kepp-Baker, 1941 – 1942
The Rev. Robert Thomas, February – August 1941
The Rev. C. Warren Newman, 1939 – 1940
The Rev. Samuel Hunting Sayre, 1938 – 1939
The Rev. Robert James Sudlow, 1934 – 1938
The Rev. Stuart F. Gast, 1928 – 1934
The Rev. Alex J. Kilpatrick, 1926 – 1927
The Rev. Alexander McMillan, 1925 – 1926
The Rev. Malcolm DePui Maynard, 1916 – 1925
The Rev. William C. Charlton, 1914 – 1916
The Rev. John Hewitt, 1908 – 1914
The Rev. Edwin G. Richardson, 1906 – 1907
The Rev. George Israel Brown, 1898 – 1906
The Rev. Robert Erskine Wright, 1893 – 1898
The Rev. William DeLancey Benton, 1891 – 1893
The Rev. James Oswald Davis, 1886 – 1891
The Rev. John R. R. Robinson, 1885 – 1886
The Rev. John Hewitt, 1877 – 1885
The Rev. Henry J. W. Allen, 1870 – 1877
The Rev. Byron McGann, 1868 – 1870
The Rev. James C. Laverty, 1863 – 1868
The Rev. George Field, 1857 – 1863
The Rev. James L. Hildebrand, 1854 – 1857
The Rev. George H. Walsh, 1851 – 1853
The Rev. George Washington Natt, 1837 – 1850