River Corner Mennonite Church (Conestoga, Pennsylvania, USA)
The first meetinghouse at River Corner near Lancaster town was erected in about 1774 on an acre of land conveyed by David Eshleman to Martin Miller. The deed was registered in 1794, though the conveyance was mentioned in Eshleman's 1777 will. This first building was replaced by a stone meetinghouse in 1828. In turn, it was replaced by a larger stone meetinghouse in 1883. This building has continued in use with some structural changes over the years.
The meetinghouse was known as Miller's church until about 1900, when the name reverted to the geographic location. The name derives from its proximity to the "corner" formed by the junction of the Susquehanna and Conestoga Rivers. Historically, the local community referred to the general area as the "River Corner."
In 2019, the average attendance was 50. About a quarter of the congregation at that time was Asian in heritage, after the congregation sponsored a Burmese refugee family in the 2010s.
Bibliography
"Congregational Profile: River Corner Mennonite Church." Shalom News 39, no. 1 (January-March 2019): 8.
Ruth, John L. The Earth is the Lord's: a narrative history of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001: 635, 1138-1169.
Weaver, Martin G. Mennonites of Lancaster Conference: containing biographical sketches of Mennonite leaders, histories of congregations, missions, and Sunday schools, record of ordinations, and other interesting historical data. Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1931. Reprinted Ephrata, PA: Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Publication Board, 1982: 102-106, 115-116. Available in full electronic text at https://archive.org/details/mennonitesoflanc00weav_0/page/n3/mode/2up.
Additional Information
Address: 524 River Corner Road, Conestoga, Pennsylvania 17516
Telephone: 717-208-2369
Website: https://www.rivercornerchurch.com/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2017)
Pastoral Leaders at River Corner Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Hans Burkholder (1670?-1745?)(Bishop) | 1717-1740s? |
| Melchior Brenneman (1665-1737) | 1717-1730 |
| Jacob Hostetter (1680s?-1761)(Bishop) | 1740s-1761 |
| Martin Boehm (1725-1812) (Bishop) |
1756-1761 1761-1777 |
| John Shenk (1747-1813) | ?-1813 |
| Jacob Brubacher (1751-1832) (Bishop) |
1780?-1783? 1743?-1832 |
| Daniel Sterneman (1767-1851) | By 1813-1851? |
| Samuel Myers (1780-1851) | 18??-1851? |
| John Brubacher (1787-1842) (Bishop) |
1829-1831 1831-1842 |
| John Huber (1791-1861) | 18??-1861? |
| Henry Shenk (1794-1865) (Bishop) |
1839-1843 1943-1865 |
| Joseph Burkholder (1803-1875) (Bishop) |
1846-1864 1864-1875 |
| Martin Miller (1798-1880) | 1858-1880 |
| John B. Harnish (1829-1908) | 1865-1908 |
| Jacob K. Brubaker (1814-1879)(Bishop) | 1875-1879 |
| Abraham B. Herr (1845-1925) (Bishop) |
1875-1899 1899-1925 |
| Jacob H. Thomas (1849-1939) | 1898-1939 |
| Aaron B. Harnish (1856-1938) | 1904-1938 |
| Maris W. Hess (1892-1965) | 1923-1940s |
| John H. Mosemann (1877-1938)(Bishop) | 1926-1938 |
| James H. Hess (1911-1998) | 1934-1940s |
| D. Stoner Krady (1894-1966)(Bishop) | 1937-1966 |
| Henry W. Nauman (1910-1956) (Bishop) |
1938-1947 1947-1956 |
| Christian "C. Mylin" Shenk (1911-1975) | 1949-1975 |
| David N. Thomas (1919-2000)(Bishop) | 1956-1986 |
| Calvin E. Shenk (1936-2015) | 1975-1976 |
| Lester K. Denlinger (1949- ) | 1976-1998? |
| Glenn H. Shenk (1929-2019) | 1976-1995 |
| Ernest Hess (1942-2024)(Bishop) | 1986-2006? |
| Richard D. Jackson (Associate) | 1994-1996? |
| David H. Siegrist | 1998?-2002? |
| David L. Gochnauer | 2004?-2021? |
| Robert A. Martin (Associate) | 2004?-2006? |
| Jeff McLain | 2022- |
| Kevin Brandford (Associate) | 2025- |
River Corner Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1915 | 90 |
| 1920 | 90 |
| 1930 | 500 in District |
| 1940 | 46 |
| 1950 | 72 |
| 1960 | 68 |
| 1970 | 88 |
| 1980 | 69 |
| 1990 | 81 |
| 2000 | 72 |
| 2009 | 70 |
Original Mennonite Encyclopedia Article
By Ira D. Landis. Copied by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 345. All rights reserved.
River Corner Mennonite Church, located two miles south of Conestoga Center in southern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Benedict Eshleman deeded one acre of land for a cemetery and meetinghouse upon which a meetinghouse was built about 1774. It was named Miller's after Martin Miller, who obtained the first deed in 1794. A stone building in 1828 replaced this, and another beautiful stone church of colonial design was built in 1882, which was enlarged in 1947. The congregation is a part of the Byerland-New Danville circuit. The membership in 1958 was 73 with David N. Thomas as bishop and Mylin Shenk minister. A large, old, well-kept cemetery adjoins the church.
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | February 2026 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "River Corner Mennonite Church (Conestoga, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2026. Web. 12 Feb 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=River_Corner_Mennonite_Church_(Conestoga,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181520.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (February 2026). River Corner Mennonite Church (Conestoga, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 February 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=River_Corner_Mennonite_Church_(Conestoga,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=181520.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.