Baptist Church in the Great Valley

Historic Baptist church in Devon, Pennsylvania

Church in Pennsylvania , United States

Baptist Church in the Great Valley

Location| 945 North Valley Forge Road
Devon, Pennsylvania 19333
Country| United States
Denomination| Baptist
Website| bcgv.org
History
Founded| 1711
Architecture
Completed| 1805
Clergy
Pastor(s)| David L. Cushman

The Baptist Church in the Great Valley is a historic American Baptist church in Devon, Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania.[1]

## Description and history

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Invited to settle there by William Penn, sixteen Welsh Baptists and their families founded the congregation on April 22, 1711. Preceded by a smaller log meetinghouse built in 1722, the current stone church building was erected in 1805. It is the third oldest Baptist church in Pennsylvania. A Pennsylvania state historical marker was placed at the location in 1951.[1][2][3]

The church figured in the region's involvement in the American Revolutionary War. Like most of his parishioners, Reverend David Jones was an ardent Patriot and served as a Continental Army chaplain. British troops under General William Howe plundered the church and parsonage in September 1776, carrying off clothing, dishware, tools, and a Bible.[2][4][5]

Its first congregant of color, Harry Coats, joined the church in 1762. A schism occurred in 1841, when following the resignation of abolitionist pastor Leonard Fletcher in 1840, a group of antislavery parishioners withdrew to form their own congregation in nearby Radnor.[1] In 1820, women received the right to vote on "all questions that may arise in the church."[4]

## See also

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* List of Pennsylvania state historical markers in Chester County

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Baptist Church in the Great Valley". Baptist Church in the Great Valley. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
2. ^ a b Jones, Horatio Gates (January 1884). "The Baptist Church in the Great Valley, Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, PA". The Cambrian: A Magazine for the Welsh in America. 4 (1): 8–14. hdl:2027/uiug.30112079507031 - via HathiTrust.
3. ^ Twiss, Harold L. (December 2003). "A Colonial Congregation: The Baptist Church in the Great Valley". American Baptist Quarterly. 22 - via ATLA.
4. ^ a b Whitehead, William M. (January 1996). "Historical Sketch of the Baptist Church at Great Valley". Tredyffrin Easttown History Quarterly. 34 (1): 29–40.
5. ^ Truett, George Rogers (1976). A Biography of David Jones, 1736-1820: His Religious, Military, and Community Life (PhD diss.). University of Colorado at Boulder - via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

40°03′57″N 75°25′57″W﻿ / ﻿40.06597°N 75.43256°W﻿ / 40.06597; -75.43256