The annual Fenton History Center Church Tour was held on a picture-perfect day on Saturday, July 20. Eleven people attended. We began at Zion Covenant Church on Fairmount Avenue. Pastor Rick Miller and Pastor Jay Baehr gave a very interesting review of the history of Zion Covenant, the church’s Swedish roots which began in downtown Jamestown, and the church’s continuing mission to serve the Jamestown community.
We then traveled to Chandlers Valley, Pennsylvania to visit the historic Hessel Valley Lutheran Church. Vern Ekdahl, a life-long member of the church, gave a wonderful talk on the history of the church, which is said to be the oldest, continuously used, Lutheran Church east of the Mississippi River. We all marveled at the church’s construction and the beautiful altar and chandelier, all of which are original to the church, which was built in the 1880s.
