Zion Reformed United Church of Christ
| Zion Reformed United Church of Christ | |
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| 39°38′43″N 77°43′6″W / 39.64528°N 77.71833°WCoordinates: 39°38′43″N 77°43′6″W / 39.64528°N 77.71833°W | |
| Location | 201 N. Potomac Street Hagerstown, Maryland |
| Country | USA |
| Denomination | United Church of Christ |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | 1770 |
| Consecrated | 1774 |
Zion Reformed United Church of Christ, originally The German Reformed Church was founded in 1770 in Hagerstown, Maryland. The church, at 201 North Potomac Street, was the first within the town limits. It is the oldest church building in Washington County, Maryland that has been in continuous use as a church since its construction. During the American Civil War, the church’s bell tower was used as a lookout by Union troops under the command of General George Custer.
The 18th century western frontier of the Maryland colony had previously been ravaged by marauding Shawnee and Delaware Indians after General Edward Braddock’s defeat at Fort Duquesne. In spite of the danger, German settlers erected a log schoolhouse around 1766 on the grounds of the present church, an area then known as Potato Hill. This building was used by the German community both as a school and as a place for religious services. Local Indians would listen to the lessons through the windows. The Tuscarora Indians were the last native people known to inhabit the area in large numbers. The log school building was used for services until the stone church was built, then it continued to serve as a day school and as a lecture hall.
German-speaking immigrants comprised the majority of Hagerstown’s earliest inhabitants and they brought with them from their homeland their religious customs. Fleeing to Holland for safety, these persecuted Protestants were befriended and supported, both in Holland and later in America, by the tolerant and kindly Dutch people. A group of forty German refugees from the religious persecutions in Switzerland and the German Palatinate, organized a German Reformed, or Calvinist, congregation in Elizabeth’s Town, later known as Hagerstown. The Reformed settlements of the Conococheague area were served at intervals by ministers sent from Philadelphia. The earliest church record for the congregation is of the baptism of George Snyder, son of Jacob and Catharine Snyder, on October 20, 1766. From this date forward there is a continuous baptismal record. In September, 1770, the Rev. Jacob Weimer was appointed as the first pastor.
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