Wesley Hall - Newtown Historic District - Newtown, PA
N 40° 13.783 W 074° 56.128
18T E 505490 N 4453256
The recorded history of Newtown Methodist Church began in 1840, with a membership of twenty-two women and eleven men. It was part of a circuit served by an itinerant preacher. This was the place where they met, Wesley Hall.
Waymark Code: WM8E6Q
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/20/2010
Views: 4
At the quarterly conference held at Pennsville on June 4, 1842, a committee was appointed to estimate the cost of a house of worship in Newtown. Although there is no information on the steps taken to build the church, this original structure was completed in 1846 where it still stands today at 35 Liberty Street.
Wesley Hall, named after John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was soon outgrown by its congregation and in 1896 the second home of the church was dedicated (Sunday, November 22, 1896) on the corner of Liberty and Greene Streets. Wesley Hall was then sold to Newtown School District for use in 1917-1818 during the re-building of The Chancellor Street School, which was closed due to a fire.
Eventually, the Methodist Church bought it back and Wesley Hall was enlarged in 1956 and is used for social and educational activities for the Newtown United Methodist Church. In 2007 the Newtown Historical Society created the "Newtown Heritage Walk" to hi-light many of the local historical buildings . Wesley hall was selected to be on the tour. There are beautiful interpretives posted about the historic district, including this site. This building is also a contributing structure to the Newtown Historic District (Boundary Increase: North and South Extensions). I have included the narrative below, e-mailed to me by a representative of the Department of the Interior.
