About Us
As important as the official history of the church is, the essence of the church, in the Biblical sense, is the people. There have been many, down through the history of Safe Harbor United Methodist Church, who have contributed to the church’s longevity as a continuous witness and outreach for Christ in this community.
We at Safe Harbor have a 177 year legacy of faith. The witness of the generations who have gone before us – who loved God and served Him faithfully have presented us with a precious gift – a faith community – a Christian family where we can learn and live and grow together. While it is true that the church is not a building, our house of worship provides the gathering place from which we can live our vision statement:
To share with others the Loving Gospel of Jesus Christ, to serve and grow in Him
The present Safe Harbor United Methodist Church was organized and built in 1847, as Safe Harbor Methodist Episcopal Church. Located on the Manor Township side of the Conestoga River, in what was originally referred to as “Millersport”, a small settlement laid out in 1812 by Jacob Miller and the Widow Miller. Before long the village became known as Safe Harbor. The “Slackwater Canal” on the Conestoga brought traffic up and down from the river, and supported the industries of the town. In 1846 the Safe Harbor Iron Works was built, and the town was thriving. During the 1850’s and 1860’s the population of Safe Harbor was estimated at 1200 people. Other enterprises located in the village included hotels, taverns, a match factory, limestone quarry, and a steel rolling mill. In 1904 a record ice flood, or “freshet” struck the village and heavily damaged everything located along the river and creek banks.
The land upon which the church was built was donated by Adam and Barbara Miller. The work was done by the volunteer labor of the members. Each beam in the building is numbered and fit into the appropriate crossarm. It has been reported that at the time of incorporation there were 270 members, three of whom were local preachers. The first trustees of the church were: Adam Miller, Ben Albright, Christian B.Herr, John Eberly, Joseph Urban, Abraham Kauffman and Joseph Wright. Twenty two years later, in 1869, the church was incorporated and chartered by the trustees at that time; George A. Tripple, Daniel F. Mellinger, J.W. Hess, P.B. Prentiss, Amos Fry, Joseph Wright, William Bones, C.B. Herr and Daniel Witmer. The first adult baptism recorded in existing church records is that of Benjamin K. Maynard. He was baptized on August 4, 1867 by the Rev. Henry Boehm, founder of Boehm’s Chapel in Willow Street. Rev. Boehm was 92 years old at the time.
The congregation still worships in the original church building, although many improvements have been made throughout the church’s history, most notably the construction of a basement underneath the original structure in 1971. In 1930 the church closed for a time, and was reopened in 1932. There is some discrepancy as to whether Sunday School classes continued to meet during this time.
From the time of its inception until 1994, Safe Harbor has been a member of a circuit of churches served by one minister. In the past, the circuit consisted of Safe Harbor, Colemanville, Conestoga and Millersville. Eventually this changed, with Millersville uniting with Washington Boro, leaving Conestoga, Colemanville and Safe Harbor together. In 1957 Conestoga became independent and Colemanville and Safe Harbor remained a circuit until 1994.
A small cemetery is located directly behind the church building, with headstones dating from 1849 to 1861. Many of those buried there are of Welsh descent. Among them is Esther Griffin, wife of John Griffin, the Superintendent of the Iron Works, one of the major industries in the village at that time.