CLINTON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY CEMETERY GUIDE            

MUNICIPALITY:  Lock Haven

CEMETERY NAME: 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church Columbarium

SCHADT NUMBER:  118

AKA: 

Number of Burials (approximate): 9

Dates of Activity:  1984 - present

Documentation/Publication:  The Cemeteries of Allison Township, Castanea Township, Flemington Borough and the City of Lock Haven (2008)

 

Directions/GPS: 

From the intersection of Water and Jay Streets (the courthouse in Lock Haven), travel south on Jay Street for one block.  Turn right onto Main Street and travel 0.1 mile.  St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is on your right.  The columbarium is located in the outside of the east wall of the church, in a narrow outdoor passageway which leads to the church office.

N41 08.212 W77 26.728

Landowner / Caretaker:

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

112 East Main Street

Lock Haven, PA 17745

 

Condition/Needs: 

Excellent

 

History: 

The Protestant Episcopal Church, the American component of the Anglican Communion, began to take root in the Lock Haven area in the mid-19th century.  Occasional services were held in the area, and on September 19, 1855, at the Clinton Hotel, St. Paul’s congregation was organized with twelve vestrymen.  Rev. Samuel B. Dalrymplewas the first resident rector, beginning his service in July 1856.  The church building was begun in 1857, and consecrated on June 22, 1863, by Bishop Potter.

The congregation has existed to the present day, participating in the gains and losses in Lock Haven during that time.  The flood of March 17, 1936, led to a fire which practically destroyed the entire church except the walls, but the congregation rebuilt within the historic structure.

In recent years, in the ancient tradition of interring the dead within the sacred precincts of the congregation, as well as with a view toward the increasing popularity of cremation, a columbarium was installed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in the outer wall of the facility.  It contains twelve niches, capable of receiving 24 sets of cremated remains.  To date, nine invididuals are at rest in St. Paul’s Columbarium.