TONOLOWAY PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
The Tonoloway Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery is located two miles north of Hancock, just inside the Pennsylvania state line. It is the oldest church in what is now Fulton County, Pa.,which was once part of Bedford County. The tenth Baptist church built in the colonies, this church was organized and built in 1752 and drew parishioners from Maryland and Virginia as well.
The first version was a log cabin. The first full-time parson, the Rev. Joseph Powell, was appointed in 1775. Of note, Powell later also served in the General Assembly and was selected to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Of twenty members from the congregation who served in The Revolutionary War, sixteen are buried here.
By the 1940’s, membership was in steep decline. Stalwart members, looking toward posterity, wisely elected outside trustees to oversee and safeguard the grounds and memory of the little church set against a rural mountainous landscape. They succeeded. The story of the church’s salvation, a labor of love and historic awareness, are here represented and attest to the foresight of those good folk.
The cache is small, able to contain coins and small items. It contains an identifier, and logbook. Please bring a suitable writing piece. Unless appropriate to this site, the usual swag should remain in your rucksacks. Bring somber respect and your camera, but leave no trace. There is parking to the front of the church.
This cache is placed with the permission of the Fulton County Historical Society.
Please, no night caching