Martinsburg Mennonite Church (Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, USA)
The earliest Mennonite settlers in the Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, vicinity, arrived by 1790, including families with the names of Rhodes, Newcomer, Ebersole, Wick, Stoner, Kurtz, Martin, and Bassler. They worshiped in log subscription school buildings near Martinsburg and Woodbury.
The River Brethren (Brethren in Christ) held a camp meeting in the area around 1850, with a great impact on the Mennonite community. The teaching on sanctification and immersion baptism attracted many, including three Mennonite ministers.
The first meetinghouse was erected in 1853 on land later occupied by the Martinsburg Mennonite Cemetery Association. The congregation built a new brick meetinghouse in 1916 on the edge of Martinsburg and soon dismantled the former church. The new meetinghouse was extensively remodelled in 1961.
The Martinsburg Mennonite Church joined the new Southwestern Pennsylvania Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church (MC) in 1877.
The first Sunday school was held at Martinsburg in 1893. The Mennonite population in the area continued to increase, and Martinsburg Mennonite helped to establish the Roaring Springs (1898), Pleasant Grove (1900), and Ore Hill (1902) churches. Martinsburg, Roaring Springs, and Pleasant Grove operated as one congregation until 1912. At that time, Roaring Springs withdrew from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Conference and joined the General Conference Mennonite Church. Martinsburg and Pleasant Grove continued to alternate services until 1945, when Pleasant Grove closed.
In 1979, some of Martinsburg Mennonite's members birthed the Cove Mennonite Fellowship in Woodbury. Pastor Nelson Roth left Martinsburg to lead the new congregation. The Martinsburg congregation then inaugurated more lay team leadership.
In 2017, the congregation withdrew from the Allegheny Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA, and joined the Lancaster Mennonite Conference.
Bibliography
Durr, J. N. "History of the Mennonite Church in Morrison's Cove." Gospel Herald 20, no. 32 (10 November 1927): 714-715.
Kaufman, Ammon "Martinsburg Mennonite Church." Southwestern Pennsylvania Conference News (March-April 1948).
"Martinsburg inaugurates new leadership pattern." Gospel Herald (24 February 1981): 162.
Shetler, Sanford G. Two centuries of struggle and growth 1763-1963: a history of Allegheny Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Allegheny Mennonite Conference, 1963: 221-233.
Additional Information
Address: 1300 East Spring Street, Martinsburg, Pennsylvania 16662
Telephone: 814-793-4211
Website: https://www.martinsburgmc.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Pastoral Leaders at Martinsburg Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Daniel Buckwalter | ?-? |
| Jacob Snyder (1793-1864) (Bishop) |
1816-1828 1828-1865 |
| Emanuel Bassler (1796-1859) | ?-1849 |
| Andrew Bassler (1804-1892) | ?-1849 |
| Abraham Stoner (1788-1861) | ?-1849 |
| Frederick K. Rhodes (1799-1871)(Bishop) | 1840-1871 |
| Henry Kauffman (1799-1882) | 1848-1882 |
| Jacob B. Snyder (1827-1892) (Bishop) |
1858-1860 1860-1892 |
| Herman Snyder (1834-1900) (Bishop) |
1865-1883 1883-1900 |
| Abram Snyder (1841-1916) | 1883-1916 |
| Abram M. Metzler (1862-1924) (Bishop) |
1897-1906 1906-1924 |
| John "J. N." Durr (1853-1934)(Bishop) | 1900-1906 |
| Isaac K. Metzler (1888-1981) | 1916-1920 |
| David "D. Irvin" Stonerook (1895-1980) (Bishop) |
1924-1933 1933- |
| Clayton A. Kraybill (1883-1971) | 1935-1953 |
| Clyde D. Fulmer (1931-2000) (Interim) |
1953-1961 1979-1982? |
| James I. Payne (1931-2017) | 1962-1966 |
| Andre Wenger | 1966-1969 |
| Nelson R. Roth | 1969-1979 |
| Robert B. Yoder | 1982-1986 |
| John Davidhizer | 1986-1996 |
| Lester T. Hershey (1912-2007)(Interim) | 1996-1997 |
| Richard K. Wineland | 1997-2000? |
| Jeffrey L. Shull | 2001?-2009? |
| Joseph H. Furry | 2010-2024 |
| Nathan Starr | 2025- |
Martinsburg Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1898 | 40 |
| 1915 | 80 With Pleasant Grove |
| 1920 | 85 With Pleasant Grove |
| 1930 | 77 With Pleasant Grove |
| 1940 | 89 With Pleasant Grove |
| 1950 | 80 |
| 1960 | 81 |
| 1970 | 90 |
| 1980 | 101 |
| 1990 | 116 |
| 2000 | XXX |
| 2009 | 110 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ezra C. Bender. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 517. All rights reserved.
Martinsburg Mennonite Church Mennonite Church (MC), a member of Allegheny Mennonite Conference, located on the southern outskirts of Martinsburg in the Morrison's Cove area, Blair County, Pennsylvania, dates back to 1790 when Mennonites migrated to this area from eastern counties and Virginia. The original settlers included families with the names of Rhodes, Kauffman, Snyder, Shank, Newcomer, Stoner, and Bassler. In the early days, a log building was used for worship and school purposes. In 1853 a new frame church was erected about one mile east of the present building. This was used until 1916, when a brick building was erected on the outskirts of Martinsburg.
Because the congregation was scattered another meetinghouse was built about three miles south of Martinsburg in 1900, known as the Pleasant Grove Church. Church and Sunday-school services were alternated between these two places until 1945, when Pleasant Grove was abandoned. This congregation established a mission station at Ore Hill in 1902, and took an active part in the opening of Altoona Mission. The congregation at Roaring Spring, about five miles west of Martinsburg, where a meetinghouse had been erected in 1898, was at first a part of the Martinsburg congregation. In 1912 it seceded to join the General Conference Mennonite Church.
The earliest ministerial help for these people came from Huntingdon County. The first resident minister and bishop was apparently Frederick Rhodes, who was ordained about 1840. A prominent leader was Abram Metzler (1862-1924, ordained bishop 1906). In 1956 the bishop is D. I. Stonerook and the pastor Clyde Fulmer, with a membership of 86. Ministers ordained at this place who served elsewhere included Henry B. Ramer (1901), Duchess, Alberta; Isaac Metzler (1913), bishop at Accident, Maryland; Clayton F. Derstine (1914), bishop at Kitchener, Ontario; and A. J. Metzler (1924), bishop at Scottdale, Pennsylvania.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Martinsburg Mennonite Church (Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2025. Web. 19 Jan 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Martinsburg_Mennonite_Church_(Martinsburg,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181225.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (September 2025). Martinsburg Mennonite Church (Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 January 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Martinsburg_Mennonite_Church_(Martinsburg,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181225.
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