St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church Cemetery
AKA:
Number of Burials (approximate): 1500
Dates of Activity: 1894 - present
Documentation/Publication: Welch; CCGS (to be published 2008)
Directions/GPS:
From the intersection of Water and Jay Streets (the courthouse in Lock Haven), travel west on Water Street for 1 mile. Turn left at the traffic light onto Fairview Street and travel less than 0.1 mile. Turn right onto Glenn Road, which leads back through the university. Follow Glenn Road for 0.7 mile, past the intersection with Irwin Street, and turn left into the St. Agnes Cemetery gate. Alternatively, from Route 150 between Lock Haven and Flemington you can turn left (if coming from Flemington) or right (if coming from Mill Hall) onto Irwin Street and travel 0.6 mile to the intersection with Glenn Road, turn left on Glenn Road and the cemetery is on your left.
N41 08.244 W77 28.342
Landowner / Caretaker:
St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church
Cemetery Committee
3 East Walnut Street
Lock Haven, PA 17745
(570) 748-4594
Condition/Needs:
Very Good; a few older stones need to be re-set.
History:
Roman Catholics in the Lock Haven area originally worshipped at Bellefonte, and then at St. Mary, later Immaculate Conception, Catholic Church, which was established in 1854. Many German-speaking Catholics came to the Lock Haven area, and were desirous to have a parish to meet the needs of their language group. Permission was obtained for the founding of a new congregation from Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Shanahan, Bishop of the Harrisburg Diocese. The church building was completed in 1873 and dedicated in March, 1873. The congregation persevered through the years. By the early 20th century, most of the German element had moved on, and the parish came to serve the new immigrant Italian population of Lock Haven, and St. Agnes has more or less become known as an ethnic Italian parish. For many years, burials continued to be made in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Lock Haven.
In 1894, however, the Diocese of Harrisburg acquired land in Allison Township from “The Preston Retreat” Corporation of Philadelphia and land from the Philip M. Price estate. The Diocese deeded the lands to St. Agnes Roman Catholic Parish which used them for the St. Agnes Cemetery. The first burial of record was also in 1894. The St. Agnes Parish is now in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
The cemetery has been expanded over the years, and St. Agnes Chapel was added in the late 1990s, for funerals and memorial services.