The Early Churches of Grove City - Part 1

(The following was written by Janet Shailer and is reprinted from “Reflections II”, a collection of local stories available at the Grove City Welcome Center and Museum. Any opinions made in the article are from the author.)Highland MissionThe first House of Worship for the burgeoning village of Grove city was the interdenominational Highland Mission located along the Highland Road (later called Harrisburg Pike). The Highland (or Hillsboro) Road was built in 1847 and the Columbus and Harrisburg Turnpike company formed to begin stagecoach service with four (or sometime six) horseback.The Highland Mission, a small building, was located near what is now 4086 Broadway. The first pastor was Rev. R.K. Davis, a Presbyterian. The Highland Mission was not the only place of worship any six-square area of Jackson Township in the early to mid-1800s. Members of the Scioto Chapel formed as early as 1812 and built a log meeting House in 1817. Members of Jackson Chapel first held meetings in the home of William Breckenridge and later built a church on the present site in 1859. As early as 1847, a class was formed in the home of Absalom Miller that would become the congregation of Concord Chapel.Before Grove City was officially incorporated as a village, the Highland Mission drew a mixture of newly settled European immigrants who wanted a place to serve God. The congregations of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, First Presbyterian Church of Grove City and the United Methodist Church all have roots in the Highland Mission.(The continuation of this story in the next blog entry.)