THE UNION SCHOOL & CHURCH

Dillingersville, Pa.

The Union School & Church was established around 1735 in Dillingersville, Pa.. Casper and Susanna Hepler and their family were once members of this church. The building shown isn't the actual one attended by Casper but is on the same tract of land. The building shown is the fourth on the site and was built in 1885. Since it is thought that Casper died around 1769, it is likely that he attended church in the original building since the second building wasn't erected until 1799.

It wasn't until I purchased the Hepler Family History book, that I took an interest in this small village which happens to be about 5 miles or so from my present home. I went looking for the Union Church this spring and took a few pictures as it looks today. The building is owned by three local churchs and is presently undergoing some renovations. It is a registered historic site. Each year, the Union School and Church Association, started in 1799, have a joint Annual Pilgrimage to this historic spot. I hope you enjoy seeing this part of our past. For more information about the early settlement in this area, read The Johann Casper Hepler Family pgs 1-4 in the Hepler Family History book.

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History of the Union School & Church Association

In the period of the arrival of our forefathers to Pennsylvania, shortly after the 1700's to the Port of Philadelphia, it is generally believed settlers or land grabbers scouted the general area of the Hosensack Valley. Hosensack Valley designated all the land between Goshenhoppen Valley to the South and Macungie to the North, an area believed to have been settled in various parts around 1730.

The settlers, were primarily from the Germanic States bordering the Rhine Valley. The settlers who came into the Dillingersville area, to set down roots, were all of the Lutheran faith. They built their first church and school in 1735 on an original tract of land consisting of 29 acres 137 perches. Their hope was for this project to become self-supporting.

Shortly after the Lutherans settled here members of the Reformed and Mennonite faiths began to take up land. Since all were religiously minded they grouped together in both school and church affairs, democratically demonstrating the true American Spirit of initiative, integrity and thrift.

In 1799 they convened to formulate plans to preserve and perpetuate the original school, thus forming the Dillingersville Union School and Church Association which to this day is still supported by the original three church denominations.

The first building erected in 1735 was of log construction. The building was not too large; a tall man could step off the area in twelve to fifteen paces. Small windows were first fashioned with oiled paper, later being replaced with ripply glass. These ripply glass windows greatly distorted the whole vista, but they were most gratifying to their builders. Most chinks between the logs were probably packed with field stone and a mortar of clay and grass. The benches, although of sturdy construction, were quite uneven.

The second building was erected in 1799, half being used for the school and the other for a dwelling. The school teacher was paid in part from the rent of the farm and partly by the children's parents; however, the teacher no-doubt was allowed to raise some produce on the land for his own use. The amount paid for education was determined in this manner; each parent paid three cents per day per child for the days the child attended school.

The third schoolhouse was erected in 1848.

The fourth and present building shown above was built in 1885.

A typical school day often began when the teacher went to the end of the path leading to the school building ringing a bell which signaled the start of the school day. A school day started at 8:00 A.M. and concluded at 5:00 P.M. with one hour for lunch.

German was the language taught exclusively. Eight grades were conducted by one teacher in the typical one-room building. The varying sizes of desks determined the grade in which a child was placed. Dunce stools were conspicuously placed for those students not performing to the best of their ability. Silence was mandatory; disturbances were dealt with by disciplinary flogging enforced by means of a hickory switch, wooden paddle, or leather strap.

Reading, writing, arithmetic, catechism, and singing were the subjects taught. Recitation was important since paper was scarce and expensive. Chalkboards and chalk were practically non-existent in the earlier days, and books were always in short supply. For the student's efforts, after eight years, his benefits included the ability to write his name, do simple figuring of pence, shillings, and pounds, and probably being able to boast of having read five or six books, not including the Bible; proving he was no longer average.

The Horn Book was probably the first book known to many of the settlers' children. It consisted of one page about the size of an ordinary spelling book, printed on one side only and attached to a wooden paddle-like board with a handle projecting from the bottom side. The sheet of paper was held in place with a brass frame and was covered with a thin transparent sheet of horn; thus the origin of it's name. The page was prefaced with the cross, often called the 'crises-cross', followed by the small and large letters of the alphabet; vowels and single consonants, the Lord's Prayer and on some the Roman numerals one to ten.

Early church schools such as the Dillinger School had A-B-C books, at that time, printed in the German language.

Outbuildings housed the toilet facilities used both in summer and winter. Water was brought to the schoolhouse from the source ( a springhouse is located several hundred yards from this building) and dipped as needed. Wood was gathered from the land and stored in the woodbox ready to feed the pot-bellied stove to provide adequate warmth at least to those students within close range of it while the other students never became comfortably warm.

Wooden peg coat racks lined the walls with shelves above where lunch boxes or baskets and later possibly paper bags were kept until the lunch break.

Most of the teachers were men who frequently doubled as the preacher.

During the planting and harvesting seasons the older children's attendance was intermittent thereby making it imperative for perfect attendance during the earlier years.

Candles or kerosene lamps provided the source of light. A suspended wall divider made it possible to divide the one room into two distinct sections. These doors were easily retracted into the space above the ceiling.

In 1867 the organization incorporated through the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in the name of the Union School and Church Association.

The fourth and present building is basically constructed of shaped field stone masonry, a Bangor slate roof with an octagonal spire which houses the bell in a cupola topped with a finial weathervane, typical of 18th century architecture.

Inside typical four-foot wainscot, pineboard flooring, double hung four-over-four windows simulating the Italianic influence in tall casements are to be noted.

A kerosene hanging light with nine etched glass globes directed upward toward a heavy ornate glass reflects the light and this is surrounded by a frame of copper. This beauty was donated to Dillingersville School around the time the present building was erected.

A cemetery located a short distance behind the school, with it's still vaguely legible headstones standing along a stone fence line, serves as a visible reminder to the perseverance, fortitude, and faith these early settlers afforded us in a rich impressive heritage here in Dillingersville.

The attachment to this spot increased as nature's elements faded the color transforming our building into a weatherworn structure. Since its beginning, the Great High Road (also known as the King's High Way), has passed it by as travelers then and now, moved along unmindful and unaware of this living monument wrought and hammered into existence by the faith of its founder, which is located in a small secluded, wooded glen, but a few hundred yards away.

Source: Historic notes compiled by Sarmae Doney and Sandy Eck, 1976.
References: A.S .Berky's book, "Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring", The History of Lehigh County by C.C. Roberts, Schwenkfelder Library, Pennsburg, Pa.

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