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New Danville Mennonite Church

Church History Information

"Somewhere in these valleys did religious ancesters worship as early as 1718. The Mennonites worshipped here in some sort of meetinghouse before Masonville church ground was given them out of the Michael Baughman tract, before they recieved the New Danville church grounds out of the Samuel Gulden tract -- before Samuel Boyer gave them River Corner"

Check out the New Danville book written by Lindsey Druck Harnish to learn more about the church and the community. Copies are available from the church office.



Year Person Event
1712 Jacob Hostetter Ordained as Bishop. The bishop district included what today is New Danville, Manor, and Lancaster districts. Died 1761.
1717   New Danville Congregation is formed under the leadership of Hans Burkholder and Melchior Brenneman. Meetings were held in homes, then a log meetinghouse--exact location unknown--up through 1755 when a stone meetinghouse was built at the present location.
Melchior Brenneman Ordained as minister. No record of date of ordination.
Hans Burkholder Ordained as Bishop. Arrives from Europe with a settler group. Died 1744.
1725 Benjamin Hershey (Hirschi) Ordained as Bishop. Died 1789.
  The "Mennonite Confession of Faith" was written in Germantown based on the 1632 "Dordrecht Confession". Hans Burkholder was one of the delegates. This document helped to explain to the local governments just what the Mennonites believed.
1755   On July 1, one acre of land was sold to the congregation for £10 at its current location. A stone meetinghouse (42 x 60 feet) was constructed that same year. A family cemetery already existed at this site. Until 1907 the meetinghouse was known as the Stumptown Meetinghouse or the "Stone House". This differentiated it from Willow Street meetinghouse which was called "The Brick"
1756 Martin Boehm Ordained as minister.
1761 Martin Boehm Ordained as bishop.
1767 Martin Boehm Cofounder of the Church of The United Brethren in Christ. Later he fellowshipped with the Methodists and in 1791 built a chapel on his farm (the first Methodist church in Lancaster County. Though he had moved away from the Mennonite Church, it was not until 1800 that he was removed from office as a Mennonite bishop.
?? John Shenk Minister, ordination date not recorded. Died 1813.
?? Daniel Sternaman Minister, ordination date not recorded.
?? Samuel Myers Minister, ordination date not recorded.
?? Henry Curley (Charles) Minister, ordination date not recorded. Died 1855.
1780   The village of New Danville was established originally being named Stumptown.
1783 Jacob Brubaker Ordained as bishop. Died 1831.
1829 John B Harnish Ordained as minister and served for 44 years. Died 1909.
1831 John Brubaker Ordained as bishop. He is the son of Jacob. Died 1842.
1839 Henry Shenk Ordained as minister.
1843 Henry Shenk Ordained as bishop. Died 1865 while seated on ministers bench at New Danville mennonite Church.
1846 Joseph Burkholder Ordained as minister, later became bishop (1864).
1848 John Huber Ordained as minister.
?? Jacob Brenneman Minister, ordination date not recorded. Died 1865.
1855 The meetinghouse was enlarged and renovated.
1858 Martin Miller Ordained as minister. Died 1880.
1864 Joseph Burkholder Ordained as bishop. Died 1875; 3,000 people attended his funeral.
Amos Shenk Ordained as minister. Later became bishop (1879).
1875 Jacob K Brubaker Ordained as bishop. Died 1879.
Abram B Herr Ordained as minister. Later became bishop (1899).
1878   To meet continuing space needs the "Stone House" was razed and rebuilt, again of stone. This structure was later remodled just several years before being torn down and rebuilt as a brick structure.
1879 Amos Shenk Ordained as bishop. He later joined the Weaverland Conference.
1887   Sunday School classes were were begun and were held as a combined service on a rotating schedule between New Danville, Byerland, and River Corner. This arrangement continued until 1942.
1899 Abram B Herr Ordained as bishop. Worship was held in his house while the new meetinghouse was built in 1906/07. See picture of his residence below. Died in 1925.
Jacob H Thomas Ordained as minister. Died 1939.
1904 Aaron B Harnish Ordained as minister. Died 1938.
1907 In order to meet the needs of a growing congregation, the stone structure was again razed. The new, larger structure was brick and became known as "New Danville Meetinghouse". This was "one of the most commodious in the county" at that time and cost $8,519.00.
1918 John K Charles Ordained as bishop.
1921 Daniel N Lehman Ordained as bishop. Died in 1925.
1922   Senior Sewing Circle organized. It met in homes and other locations until 1954 when it began to meet in the basement of the New Danville Mennonite Church. Special tables were made to hold the sewing machines. These can still be seen in the church basement.
1923 Maris W Hess Ordained as minister. Died 1965.
1926 John H Moseman Ordained as bishop. He was the last bishop over the entire district. Died 1938.
1930   Marticville Road is paved, ending the problem of mud in the spring and after rains.
1934 James H Hess Ordained as minister.
1937 D Stoner Krady Ordained as bishop for Lancaster and New Danville Districts. Died 1966.
1938 Henry Nauman Ordained as minister. Henry Nauman was the last minister ordained to preach in every church of the district. Later ministers were only ordained for New Danville.
  District ministers meetings began with the bishop, ministers and deacons meeting every other month for fellowship and planning.
1947 Henry Nauman Ordained as bishop for the New Danville District as an assistant to Stoner Krady. Died 1956.
1945   The basement was remodeled. Lumber from the torn down horse sheds was used for the ceiling and indoor rest rooms were added, though the brick outhouses remained until 1968.
1946   A Junior Sewing Circle was begun. This grew in size but then dwindled until 1979 the few remaing members joined the Senior Sewing Circle.
1947   Vacation Bible School was begun at New Danville.
1948 David N Thomas Ordained as minister. Later became bishop (1956).
1950   Young Peoples Meetings were begun every other Sunday evening. These rotated between New Danville, Byerland, River Corner, and Rawlinsville until 1970. At that time New Danville began holding its own Sunday evening service on the third Sunday of the month.
1952   A Youth Group, named Gospel Messengers, was begun for youth fifteen years and older.
1953   First annual congregational business meeting held by New Danville Mennonite Church.
1954 In 1945 when the basement was remodled a brick alcove was built to enclose the basement steps. A corner bulletin board was added in 1954 as a public announcement of service times.
1956 David N Thomas Ordained as bishop for the New Danville District separate from the Lancaster District. He became Conference Moderator in 1963 and continued in this role until 1982.
1957 Elias H Groff Ordained as minister. He is the only minister who also had served as deacon for the congregation. Celebrated 100th birthday in Sep 2006.
1966 Jay C Garber Ordained as minister.
1968 An enclosed foyer was added to the church with a brick sign out front. The front of the sanctuary was also remodeled.
1970 District ministry team, December 1970. Back row: Harold Charles, minister, Oakwood; Luke Boll, deacon, Rawlinsville; Paul Campbell, deacon, Oakwood; Claude Miller, deacon, Byerland; Harold Hess, minister, Rawlinsville; Paul Bowman, deacon, New Danville; Elias Groff, minister, New Danville. Front row: Wilber Lentz, minister, Byerland; Mylin Shenk, minister, River Corner; James Hess, minister, Byerland; David Thomas, bishop; Amos Hess, minister, Rawlinsville; Jay Garber, minister, New Danville; Mahlon Shenk, minister, River Corner; Elvin Herr, deacon, Rawlinsville.
1972   "Our Barn" was begun as an outreach to the young people of the area. This ministry continued until 1982. This barn along Marticville Rd is now the home of the New Danville Volunteer Fire Department.
1981   SMILE -- Share a Morning In Learning Exchange was begun.
1986 Ernest Hess Ordained as bishop. Retired in 2006.
1997 Nathan Yoder Hired from outside the church as New Danvilles first full time minister.
2001 Curtiss Kanagy Current minister.
2006 Richard Buckwalter Became bishop of New Danville District. He was already bishop in Pequea Valley and Manor Districts.