History

COLEMAN MEMORIAL CHAPEL near Brickerville, Pa.

     The origins of this little Presbyterian rural chapel go back nearly 200 years to the days when Lancaster County was being settled and when the iron industry was very important in the northern area.

     About 1750 one John Jacob Huber started a blast furnace here. He was joined by a young German named William H. Von Stiegel who before long had married Huber’s daughter, Elizabeth, and acquired the business. Von Stiegel laid out the town of Manheim, was well-to-do and prominent in civic affairs. In later years he became famous among collectors for the beautiful glassware he manufactured. In 1776 Robert Coleman took over the property. The following August several hundred of the Hessian prisoners captured by Washington in his surprise Christmas attack near Trenton were brought to Elizabeth Furnace and put to work by Coleman digging a mile-long ditch to provide added water power for the forge-which manufactured shot and other munitions for the Revolutionary troops. Remains of the “Hessian Ditch” can still be seen today.

     By 1835 a small chapel was built and a Sunday School ministered to the tenants of the 1800-acre Elizabeth Farms. For awhile the nearby iron industry employed many men and religious services were well attended. But times changed, and in 1857 all three of the principal forges in the township ceased operations. In 1874 tragedy stuck the Coleman family when young James, 12, was killed in a horseback accident. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. G. D. Coleman, decided to build a chapel as a memorial to their son, and the present building –consisting of a church, a parsonage, and a sexton’s house—were erected at a cost of $25,000. The cornerstone bears the date 1874,

     For the next 62 years Coleman Memorial Chapel was under the supervision of Christ Presbyterian Church of Lebanon, Pa. Miss Fanny Brown Coleman was for many years the chapel’s “good angel”, taking a great interest in the work and contributing generously to it. Upon her death in 1904 she deeded to the chapel a trust fund of $16,000, the income from which was to help maintain the work. 

     In 1936, conditions having reached a low ebb, Presbytery took action placing the chapel under the care of the First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster. Since then there has been some encouraging progress both as to property and increased membership. Rev: Frank S. Bromer, a blind retired minister of the Reformed Church, had come here in 1932, together with his wife, and for twenty-two years now, he has been in charge of the weekly church services and Sunday School work. (In May he observed the 50thanniversary of his ordination to the ministry.) The Sunday School, directed by Mr. H. K. Beard, has an enrollment of 90 , with an average attendance of 55. Adult church members number over 50, and are carried on the roll of the First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster. Last year electricity was installed, and the men of the chapel completely renovated the Sunday School rooms, repainting them most attractively. A new furnace will soon be installed. A committee of the Lancaster Session travel to Brickerville several times a year to conduct Communion, and seeks to guide and help in other ways as needed.

     With gratitude for the past, and a growing interest on the part of many in this splendid work, the members and friends of Coleman Memorial Chapel look confidently to the future believing that God has for this church a continuing place of inspiration, witness and service to the people of this community.

.................................Written for Homecoming Day, June 20,1954    

      A red sandstone Gothic-style church overlooks farmland below. For over 140 years,  Coleman Memorial Chapel has stood in silent tribute to 14-year-old James Coleman, killed in an 1874 horseback riding accident.

Who were the Colemans? G. Dawson and Debra Brown Coleman, James’ parents, were prominent in northern Lancaster County. He was a third-generation heir to an iron business and served in both the state House and Senate. He would die in 1878, just a year after the chapel was dedicated; she lived until 1894.  

Who designed the chapel? The Colemans hired Harrisburg architect Luther Simon, who then traveled through Europe looking for the ideal design. The cornerstone was laid in 1874, and the final chapel dedicated in 1877. The adjoining parsonage and caretaker’s houses were built at the same time. Among other projects, Simon also designed the state arsenal and Pine Street Presbyterian Church, both in Harrisburg.

What are some highlights? A series of windows believed to be by the Tiffany studio, each featuring Christian symbolism; a stretched-leather backdrop for the altar with illustrated prayers; and original fixtures such as kerosene lamps, which are lit for special services including the Candlelight service held in December each year, elaborate hardware and interior painting. The property’s original stone structure, used as a meeting place for Coleman workers, was incorporated into the “new” chapel when it was built. The leather-covered doors behind the chapel altar can be opened to reveal the meeting room stage behind, providing room for additional seating or a choir. The pew backs can be flipped, much like train seats, so that seating faces the doors which are opened on Easter so the congregation can watch the sun rise.

The history is now preserved by major fundraisers each year such as a soup and sub sale, a chicken barbecue, breakfasts, and donations. 

In 2021 the church membership voted to be a part of the Presbytery of Donegal, Presbyterian Church (USA) as a Covenant fellowship.