Rock Chapel is the oldest Methodist place of worship in this area. It is located between Harrisburg PA and Gettysburg PA less than two miles from the intersection of US Route 15 and PA Route 234. It is less than fifteen miles north of Gettysburg PA.
Driving directions: At the intersection of US Route 15 and PA Route 234 exit US 15 to 234 West. Proceed about six tenths of a mile to the intersection of PA 234 and Old Harrisburg Road. This is the center of Heidlersburg. Old Harrisburg Road was at one time US Route 15. Turn right on Old Harrisburg Road and proceed about seven tenths of a mile to the intersection with Oxford Road. This is marked by the usual road signs and a large blue Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission sign with the information about the Church.
The sign is located on the left side of the road. Turn left at this intersection and proceed about one mile, the church is on the left. The church is not open to the public but can be rented for occasions like weddings. It has no electricity or other facilities.
These pictures show the outside of the church from various angles. This view is from near the road. The only door to the church is under the trees. Note the stone work which has been well maintained. The roof has been replaced with standard asphalt shingles, the original period shingles would have been cedar from the area but these are very difficult to obtain. The two trees in the front are not more than a hundred years old, they are probably descendents of original trees that were there.
This view from the back is nearly 180 degrees from the previous one. It shows a small view of the cemetery. Note that the church has only eight windows - with none on the side with the door. The spouting is aluminum, not period of course but very necessary and far less expensive than copper which is a theft risk in unattended buildings because of the scrap value. The gravestones are varied from very plain to very ornate. There are stones with mid-1700 burial dates.
This is a close-up of the church door, which incidentally is the only door into the church. Note the stone-work and the brick arch over the door. I doubt the iron handrail is period but is similar in appearance to what would have been used.
View of the one window showing the functional shutters. These could be closed to actually protect the windows. At least some of the glass is period, it has the waviness that does not show in glass made today but was usual in glass over a hundred years old. I am not sure of the function of the white metal rods that hang from the sill of the window.
This view through the window to the left of the pulpit shows some of the church. Note the pot-bellied stove that was one of two used to heat the church. The long stovepipe was used to increase the amount of heat that was extracted from the fuel, in this area almost certainly hard woods, mostly oak. I can find no indication of the chimneys remaining so the stoves are non-functional.
Look carefully just to the right of center in the picture, there is an iron rod hanging from the ceiling directly above the frames on the back wall. This rod is about 3/8 inch in diameter and is one of four in this church that was used to hang the gasoline lights that were used with the oil lamps to light the church These were gasoline mantle lights much like the "Coleman Lamps" used by campers today.
The thick walls can be seen here, the stone visible on the outside is not a façade, it is the construction material. I can only count nine seats on each side but at least two on this side are short because of the stove. They are relatively wide but the seating capacity of this church is probably not more than one hundred fifty, a typical size for community churches in central Pennsylvania. The bench at the side was often called the "deacon bench" because the church deacons frequently sat there. Note the hymnals stacked under the deacon's bench.
This picture of the pot-bellied stove was taken when I had access to the building during a wedding five years ago. They could burn wood or coal.
This is one of the gas lamps which were lit during the evening wedding five years ago. These burn gasoline with mantles and had to be taken down, filled and lit before each use and then taken down and turned out after use. About ten inches above the lamp you can see the hook where the lamp hung on the rod that was fixed to the ceiling. A long pole with a hook was used to hang them and take them down.
