Some time in the 1690' s a small log church was built on one acre of land given by the Farmar family who had received a 5,000 acre grant from Wm. Penn. This little church was for many years a non-denominational church all who wished to worship there were welcomed. Although it is now an Episcopal Church we still welcome all who wish to worship here.
After 10 years the little log building was burned and a stone building was erected in its place. The congregation helped a sister church 9 miles away in Philadelphia build a road - Church Road - so that one minister could serve both churches. One of these ministers, Aeneas Ross, was the father-in-law of Betsy Ross.
It was down Church Road that the British troop stormed in pursuit of the Colonial Army after the Battle of Germantown. The church hill changed hands several times during the Revolutionary War. A few relics of the war picked up on church grounds are on display in the church office. Its location just above Bethlehem Pike made the Church at Whitemarsh a strategic spot for firing down on the troops at Fort Washington . The countryside was ravaged and the little church suffered accordingly - its windows were broken out, the wooden fence burned and gravestones broken.
It was several years before services were again held in the little church and the congregation soon decided it would be better to build a new church than to try to repair the old one. The new church was built a few yards to the south and east of the old one. In a picture we have it looks much like the country church it was, a white church with a tall white steeple sitting atop a hill. In 1818 it was consecrated as an Episcopal church and named St. Thomas ~ Church. Time went by, the congregation grew and it was again decided a new church should be built. That is when the present church was built on the site of the third church. As the church grew so did the holding of property surrounding the church, from one acre to 43 acres.
The oldest building on the property is the stone house on the comer of Bethlehem Pike and Camp Hill Road. It has been used in times past as a rectory. A small stone school was built to the south of this house on Bethlehem Pike. Here many children have learned "reading, riting, and rithmatic" and to love their God. These two structures were later remodeled and joined together to form a larger school and parish house. A new parish house is just beyond this building on Camp Hill Road. It, too, is part of the school and a day care center.
On the south side of the church, which has been enlarged twice, stands a stone house. It was built in the 1890's as a rectory and was lived in for 40 years by the Rev. N. B. Groton. When the big white farmhouse, built in the same decade, was acquired the stone rectory became the church office and the farmhouse became the home of a rector with a large family. The white farmhouse is now the church office and the stone rectory, named Groton House, is a fine bookstore and gift shop.
The large white barn behind the church offices is the scene of many church events, picnics, outdoor services, country fairs, barn sales and summer day- camp for children from The Church of The Advocate in Philadelphia . The small white house behind the barn is the home of the property manager.
Much of the land is the cemetery of St. Thomas ' with graves from the early 1700' s to today. All of the property is used for the Glory of God and the community. In August the 48-bell carillon is played in concert every Tuesday. People from around the area bring chairs and blankets to enjoy the lawns under towering trees while listening to the music of the bells being played by our resident carillonneur and visiting artists.
The church itself is a fine stone structure now almost 150 years old. It has many beautiful stained glass windows most of which were made in . One, however, was made in the Tiffany studios. It is in the middle of the south wall. The lovely carved stone baptistery, pulpit and altar were largely due to the devotion of the Sheaff family. One member of this family, Miss Ellen Sheaff built the small stone school house and taught there much of her life.
The murals on the walls of the chancel were painted by Marianne Sloan. The first one was dedicated in memory of a previous rector, the Rev. A. J. Miller, on October 31, 1915 and the other two a few years later.
The beauty of the church and the grounds on which it stands are a source of pride for the congregation. We treasure this gift from the men and women who worked so hard for the God they loved. It is our hope that we may hold safe that which they left us and continue their work of spreading Christianity throughout our community and the world.
The Saint Thomas History Task Force was established in 2002 to help maintain and develop accurate archival records and documentation of the history of our campus. It is through their efforts and the efforts of many valued community members before them that the history of this wondrous campus will live on for many, many years to come as a legacy for future generations.
Bethlehem Pike and Camp Hill Road, P.O. Box 247, Fort Washington, PA 19034
Phone (215)233-3970 Fax (215)233-2893 Email info@stthomaswhitemarsh.org
© St. Thomas' Church, Whitemarsh. All rights reserved.
All trademarks property of their owners.