Oregon Community Church Cemetery - Lititz, PA - Churchyard Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

This small countryside cemetery has about 70 interments, most with unreadable or with worn inscriptions on the headstones. The headstones are the old fashioned type with rounded tops, thin and made of stone. Also, most had American flags next to them so I am guessing they are some veterans buried in here as well. Although this is a Methodist church, parishioners buried here are from multiple denominations and not just Methodist. I was only able to find a passing reference to the cemetery on the web so this is all the information I could muster.

I accidentally found this church in the 'back woods" while visiting a covered bridge on my way home from York, PA. You can tell right away it is very old as the headstones are all worn and the original stone wall which provides a perimeter looks ancient. I found a cornerstone of sorts made of brick and incised with the date 1874 and colored black. The rest of the brick has been covered up with siding. There are also some additions which have been made to the front and rear of the church evidenced by some old photos I found of the structure in its original appearance.

Compared to other churches this church is very modest in form and lacks the stately elegance of other churches one might find in more populated area. The church lacks a bell tower, crucifix, cross or anything else which might identify it as a house of worship. I found out when it was originally built, it was designed this way on purpose so multiple religious denominations could use the building and not feel uncomfortable with another denomination's religious icons hanging about the church.

The church is on a winding road and epitomizes what is a country church. The area is truly rural. When I visited the site, Amish buggies were clip-clopping on the early morning, empty streets. At 7 AM the Amish were busy and hard at work, farms bustled with activity and the rest of this small town slept peacefully under a cloudless summer canopy.

From the church's website (Source Cited Below):

In June of 1874, a group of citizens met in the Oregon School House to formulate plans for the building of a house of worship near to the graveyard at Oregon. Anna Bushong of Reading, who had many friends and relatives buried in the graveyard, contributed $500 toward the purchase of the graveyard, ground and the building of the Meeting House. A decision was made to raise the remainder of the funds by subscriptions from people living in nearby towns and villages.

On August 7, 1874, the Trustees met in the Oregon Hotel and accepted a bid of $1,267 for the construction of the Meeting House. The cornerstone was laid on October 4, 1874 and the building was dedicated on November 22, 1874. At this time, it was decided that the Oregon Meeting House would be open to all denominations that preach from the Bible and want to worship Almighty God. The deed states that this is “a site for a Union Meeting House for religious worship and ground for burying the dead and for no other purposes.”