The Bell Tower @ Newtown United Methodist Church - Newtown, PA - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

When I visited, the tower was the first thing I noticed, even though I was several blocks away. I loved this huge, louvered bell tower rising high above the corner, over the entrance of the huge red, wooden doors, between the two large gables with their stone-slate roofs. The tower is topped with a tall, rectangular pyramid. There are also louvered, Gothic windows midway up the structure, around all four sides. The huge stone block, cornerstone on the bottom left of the building reads 1896. The church was built as a replacement for Wesley Hall, which still stands to the right of this huge church. They actually attached the two buildings with a walk way between them. The church has these gigantic Gothic-like windows with stained glass on the other side.

I found the following on the church website:

Our earliest recorded History began in 1840 when Newtown was named as a “regular preaching appointment” of the Attleborough – Doylestown circuit. Our membership included 22 women and 7 men at that time. A committee was established in 1842 to study the matter of erecting a house of worship and our “Wesley Hall” was built in 1846.

The next half century saw our church grow and develop to the point that by 1886 discussions were beginning about the need for a new building to house our growing congregation. Fund raising began in 1888 and by August of 1895 the lot at the corner of Liberty and Green streets had been acquired and on September 14th plans for the new building were approved by the congregation. The cornerstone laying took place on May 5th 1896 and dedication of the completed building took place that same year on November 22nd. (Cost of the land and building was $12,987.98)

A prominent member of our congregation (Miss Annie Skeer) built our current parsonage in 1907 and donated in it to the Church as soon as completed. Our articles of incorporation were adopted and registered with the state in 1922. Our sanctuary today is exactly as it was when finished in 1896 except for a remodeling of the pulpit area which was done in 1967. The remodeling included changing the location of the communion rail, the choir loft and organ as well as the installation of our first PA system.

Wesley hall was enlarged in 1955 and our kitchen was completely remodeled in 1972 and in 1987 the two buildings were connected . That area now is the location of our library,church offices,restrooms and nursery.

I have included the narrative below, e-mailed to me by a representative of the Department of the Interior.