Westover Baptist Church History

History Of The Westover Baptist Church
1852-2002

Click HERE for a picture of the church

In 1837, two brothers, Joseph and Jonathan Westover emigrated by wagon from Holidaysburg to this area and settled on the hill above the church. The eldest brother, Jonathon, brought the family Bible and it is reported that from reading the word that he rode his horse to Holidaysburg and was immersed by the pastor there. Joseph, we are told, was baptized in Cherry Tree and some years after was dropped as he did not attend all the meetings of the church. A brother, William, came some time later and was converted at a gospel meeting at Cherry Tree and thus completed a circle of believers among the three brothers.

About 1847, a preacher and two friends came to the home of Jonathon Westover and they passed the word around that there would be preaching.
The preacher was Rev. Sam Miles. Several other families settled in our town; and on a Saturday in May 1852, they met at the Upper School House on Chest Creek and organized themselves as a group known as the Westover Baptist Church.

On November 11, 1863, the members met at the home of Daniel Fry and selected a site behind our present church as the place for a forty-four by thirty-four House of Worship. The building was erected by Rev. Sam Miles, his son, Robert, and others. From May 1852 until October 1878, a little over 26 years, the church had grown to 197 members.

Between October 3, 1888, and November 2, 1890, another church, thirty-four by forty-eight and sixteen feet to the square was erected at our present location. The first church was used as an amusement hall.
After the dedication sermon by Rev. Forman, three hundred dollars was pledged to pay the balance of the debt. The dedicatory prayer was offered by 83 year old Rev. Miles. In 1898, the church thanked sister Mary Telford for her generous gift of the parsonage. In 1903, two stoves were purchased to heat the house of worship.

On January 27, 1918, the church was totally destroyed by a fire and church services were held in the Isaac Straw store room. On February 10, the congregation approved rebuilding a church of brick case and on July 13, 1919, the present church was dedicated. The eleven o'clock service was in charge of Rev. Clark, the last pastor, as the church had been pastorless since his resignation in January. Five ministers participated in the service. After the sermon, former pastor E.F. Radcliffe asked the congregation for an offering and they responded with the sum of $4,000.00. During the evening service, an offering was again taken and over $3,000.00 was accrued in pledges and cash. The two offerings of $2,263.44 cancelled the $7,000.00 debt of the new $20,000.00 Baptist Church.

The church commemorated its 100th anniversary on June 15, 1952, with special services during the week.

From this time until 1989, several physical changes have been made to the original church, such as, a covered side entrance to the basement, oil heat, indoor restrooms, plexiglass covering of windows for protection and conservation of heat, carpeting, mural baptistry, pulpit furniture, new front porch roof and currently a remodeling of the kitchen.

Since 1989, remodeling has taken place to improve access to the church. An enclosed outside ramp and new glass front doors were installed through memorial gifts. A new outside bulletin board and plant stands, vases, and greenery were also donated through memorial gifts. Enhancements has been made to the Sunday School area by installing divider doors, new carpeting and two remodeled bathrooms. New basement windows where installed, also a new sound system was installed and is continually being upgraded. This has allowed the church to have headphones for the hearing-impaired and to record every service. Videotaping the Sunday morning servicese has been added so that the church services can be shared with those unable to attend the services. Memorial gifts have been used to purchase some of the sound equipment.

In May 26, 2002, the Westover Baptist Church celebrated their Sesquicentennial for the 150 years faithfully serving the Lord.
Below is a list of all the Pastors of the Westover Baptist Church from 1852 to 2002.

Samuel Miles .............. May 1852 - Oct. 1864
W.B.Purdy....................April 1865 - Dec. 1872
T. Vanscoyoc............. Dec. 4, 1875 -Aug. 1876
Samuel Miles................ Dec. 1876 - April 1882
R.E. Williams...........July 1, 1882 - July 2, 1886
M.G. Smith.....................Nov. 1888 - Oct. 1891
C.H. Hodge................. Dec, 2, 1892 - June 1894
Rev. Noble.................... .Nov. 1, 1984-Oct 1896
N.O. Patterson .. Nov. 8, 1896 -March 26, 1898
F. L. Sigmund..............Apr. 1, 1899 -Jan. 1 1903
E.C. Houck..............Jan. 1, 1903 - Aug. 29, 1906
S. Neissen..............Nov. 6, 1907 - Dec. 20, 1910
Edwin Radcliff..........Aug. 6, 1911 - June 7, 1915
S.S. Clark...............Nov. 28, 1915 - Jan. 19, 1919
J.S. Brownlee........Dec. 1, 1919 - Sept. 18,1922
W.E. Maring..........Jan. 25,1922 - March 5, 1922
J.A. Metzer...............June 11,1922 - Aug 5, 1923
E.G. Bangs..............Sept. 26, 1923 - Aug. 7, 1927
C.R. Knight.............. ..Spring 1930- Sept. 1, 1934
W. S. Young.............April 21,1935 - Jan. 2, 1939
Gerald Goss...............April 1, 1939 - Aug. 8 1943
H. L. Portertield......June 10, 1944 - April 7, 1946
H. L. Porterfield.....Dec. 10, 1946 - May 31, 1949
E. L. Porterfield.........Oct 8, 1950 - May 30, 1954
Frank Hoper................Dec. 5, 1954 - June 5, 1955
Joe Kirkwood.........April 1, 1956 - Sept 27, 1957
Charles Hamilton.........Feb. 9, 1958 - Dec. 4, 1960
Ralph Gibson.............Jan 28, 1962 - Feb. 12, 1963
Russell Cunnings.....April 7, 19963 -Nov. 10 1966
Harry Davis...............Oct. 19, 1969 - June 20, 1971
Rev. Steves (Interim).......April 2, 1972- May 1972
William Carraway.........May 1972 - Dec. 31, 1972
Charles W. Long..................Sept. 2, 1979 - Present

Information from the the Westover Sesquicentennial Book 1840-1990 and Westover Baptist Church Sesquicentennial Program 1852-2002

Contributed for use by the Clearfield County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/~clearfield/)

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This page was last updated on Saturday, March 22, 2008.

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