OF LANCASTER COUNTY. 457 



1806 the Rev. Isaac Gruber pvoatlied occasionally at Lancaster. The lirst re<,'nhir service 

 was conducted in 1807 by the Rev. Henry Boelnn. in the house of Philii) Benedict. 

 Lancaster was made a regular charge in 1839, since which period regular niiinsters Imve 

 been stationed here. 



The Methodists have places of worship in the following localities: Laiica.ster (two— 

 respectively known as the First Methodist Church and St. Paul's ^l. E. Church i, Safe 

 Harbor and ]\Lanor, Columbia, ]\Larietta and Maytown, Mount Joy, Bainbridge and Fal- 

 mouth, Fulton, Mount Nebo, Strasburg, Enterprise and Conestoga. Aggregate num- 

 ber of members in 1869, 2122. 



"Henry Beam or Boelim was born in 1775. His grandfather emigrated from the 

 Palatinate in 171o. His father, JIartin Boehm, was a minister of the Mennonite Society 

 and elected a full minister or Bishop in 175.1. He used to complain of the absence of 

 vital godliness in his society. He happened to visit the Shenandoah valley, which wa.s 

 then called New Virginia. There he met with people called "New Lights," supposed 

 to be remnants of the followers of Wicklift'e. Their preachers proclaimed the Gospel 

 with much spirit and power. "When his father returned home he brought some of their 

 fire with him. Some complaints were made against him by his old brethern, and com- 

 mittee after committee was appointed to investigate his case and at last he was deposed 

 because he 'mixed with people of a strange tongue.' He, however, still continued to 

 preach the Gospel, and soon after the Methodists came into the neighborhood, with 

 Avhom he joined. 



"Boehm's Chapel, the first Methodist Chui-ch in Lancaster county, was built in 1790. 

 He himself went to where Columbia now stands to fetch lumber to build it. There was 

 then no town there. The place was called Wright's Ferry. 



"In 1807 he organized the first Methodist Society in Lancaster, in the house of Philip 

 Benedict. At that time Lancaster did not extend further north than where the ^letho- 

 dist Church now stands, south to Vine street, and on the west to tlie intersection of 

 Columbia and Manor turnpikes. In going from Lancaster to Columbia there was much 

 ground lying common and not fenced in." 



MORAVIANS. 



The Moravians, or United Brethern, have congregations at Lancaster and Litiz. For 

 an account of their establishment in the county see page 380 .sq. 



In 1742 Count Zinzendorf visited Lancaster. In 174(5 a Moravian Provincial Coun- 

 cil was held at Lancaster. 



' ' In the first quarter of the eighteenth century (in the year 1722), the Moravian Church 

 was renewed in Saxony, by the descendants of the ancient "Unitas Fratum,'' who im- 

 migrated to that country from ]\roravia — hence the present name of tlie church, and 

 found an asylum on the estate of Count Zinzendorf. 



They introduced the discipline of their fathers and received the ancient episcopate, 

 which had been carefully preserved in the event of the renewal of the church. 



In the year 1735 the first colony came to America. Tiiey formed permanent settle- 

 ments at Nazareth and Bethlehem, Northampton county. Pa. 



In 1745 a congregation was organized in Lancaster by Bishop Spangenberg. In 1746 a 

 church and school house were built on the corner of Orange street, and what is now called 

 Market street, between North Queen and Prince streets. The school house, which, 

 also formed the parsonage till 1849, when a new one was built, still stands. The 

 church, which stood for nearly three quarters of a century, was taken down in 1820 

 and the present edifice was erected. 



In 1868 extensive alterations were made. The galleries were removed, the building 

 was enlarged, a central reflector for lighting was introduced, and many other improve- 

 ments were made. The present ninnberof communicants is 221 and tiie total member- 

 ship under pastoral care 351. 



