Our History
Brochure
Early settlers of the Youghiogheny Valley were introduced to the liberal faith of Universalism by an itinerant minister, E. Davis Bacon. On June 9, 1860 in the red brick school house on Port Royal Hill, the first Universalist Church in Southwestern Pennsylvania was organized. Converted into a home years ago, the school house still stands on Fitz Henry Road, two miles north of the current church site in Smithton.
The picture above was taken in 1960 by Bill Wagner for the 100th anniversary celebration of the church. The picture on the right was taken in November 2010, just after our 150th anniversary celebration.
In 1887, the present church was built on land donated by George Smith. The bell, which is still functional, was donated by Mr. Thomas of Philadelphia; for many years, the church was known as the Thomas Universalist Church.
This booklet was written by Ethelclaire Rhodes-Smith and published in 1950.
It covers the history of Smithton from the days of the Iroquois in 1750 up until 1950
when Smithton was a thriving town. The book may be found here.
The Thomas Universalist Church is up and to the right of center of this 1887 picture.