In 1817 Jacob Frantz of Westmoreland County came to this vicinity and bought the land and grist mill of Charles Campbell. Pastor John M. Steck of Greensburg followed his parishioner and held German services in this mill during the same year.

In 1822 Jacob Frantz donated two acres of ground to the Reformed and Lutherans for church and burial purposes, to which was later added one-half acre by purchase from the Hart heirs. Before the Frantz land was legally conveyed, the donor died; but John Frantz carried out the wishes of his father and executed the deed.

The first body laid to rest in this burial ground was that of John Allison, a schoolmaster, May 10, 1823. The first church erected on this ground was built of logs in the spring of the sameyear. It was a plain building, without ornamentation of any description, not even being provided with chimneys, since no services were held at first in the winter. The pews were made of heavy slabs. The first Lutheran pastor to minister in this old log church was Rev. G. A. Reichert, who preached two sermons, April 29, 1823, and probably organized the congregation on the same day.

On May 1, 1823. a communion service was held, conducted by Pastor William Weinel of the Reformed Church, which seems to have been attended by both Lutherans and Reformed. The relations between the two bodies in those days were extremely cordial. The rights of each party were fully respected by the other, and they lived and labored as brethren.

Both denominations conducted services exclusively in German for a number of years, the first English sermon being preached by Rev. John H. Bernheim in 1838. When Rev. Jacob Zimmernlan took charge of the church in 1841, it was his custom to preach a German and an English sermon on the same day. After 1860 practically all German was eliminated.

The services of Pastor Reichert continued from April 29, 1823 to March 30, 1834, during which he preached regu1arly every four weeks in German, and administered the sacrament of the altar once a year. In those days Lutherans thought it no hardship to travel eight or ten miles to attend services, and the little log church was often crowded. According to Pastor Reichert's diary, the following persons communed during the years 1828 to 1834 :

Altmann, Jonathan	George, John	Rupert, Solomon
Altmann, Magdalena	Hancock, Samuel	Rupert, Friedrich
Altmann, Hannah	Hancock, Rosanna	Rupert, Katherina
Altmann, Sarah	Hancock, Elizabetha	Rupert, John
Altmann, Susanna	Hartz, Jacob	Rupert, Elizabetha
Baer, Elizabetha	Hartz, Dorothea	Rupert, Peter
Beck, Jacob	Haushalter, John	Rupert, Esther
Braun, Katherina	Haushalter, Hannah	Rupert, Karl
Deis, Katherina	Haushalter, George	Rupert, Elizabeth
Dormaier, Andreas	Haushalter, Elizabetha	Rupert, Heinrich
Dormaier, Magaretha	Haushalter, David	Rupert, Juliana
Dormaier, Jacob	Haushalter, Isaac	Rupert, Jacob
Dormaier, Elizabetha	Haushalter, Samuel	Rupert, Magdalena
Dormaier, Andreas, Jr.	Haushalter, Jonathan	Rupert, Jacob II
Dormaier, Hannah	Haushalter, Polly	Rupert, Peter II
Dormaier, Katherina	Haushalter, Maria	Rupert, Carl II
Dormaier, Susanna	Hellelfinger, Heinrich	Rupert, Ludwig
Dormaier, Isaac	Heffelfinger, Elizabetha	Rupert, Samuel
Dormaier, Philip	Heffelfinger, Margaretha	Rupert, Philip
Elmann, Christian	Heffelfinger, Peter	Rupert, Andreas
Elmann, Barbara	Heinselman, Esther	Rupert, Susanna
Frantz, Maria	Henry, John	Rupert, Lydia
Frantz, Elizabetha	Hiesle, Michael	Rupert, Maria Barbara
Fritz, George	Heisle, Magdalena	Rupert, Isaac
George, Jacob	Hiesle, John	Rupert, Rachel
George, Jacob	Heisle, Susanna	Schiesle, Ludwig
George, Samuel	Kimmel, Daniel	Schiesle, Sophia
George, Katherina	Kimmel, Elizabetha	Schiesle, William
George, Polly	Kimmel, Thomas	Schiesle, Sarah
George, Peter	Linsenbigler, Martin	Schneider, Anna
George, Bernhard	Lisenbigler, Maria	Schott, Christian
George, Sarah	Lisenbigler, Magaretha	Schott, Maria
George, Rachel	Miller, Heinrich	Schreiock, George
George, Christian	Otterman, John G.	Schreiock, Heinrich
George, Dorthea	Otterman, Elizabetha	Wagle, Isaac
George, Jacob, Jr.	Otterman, Esther	Wagle, Esther

The large number of Georges and Ruperts in this list would indicate how quickly a few families of Lutheran pioneers could develop into a large congregation. There was evidently trouble of some kind in the church at the time of the resignation of Pastor Reichert, March 30, 1834, in as much as he continued to serve all his other churches for three more years. So far as we can learn the church was vacant from 1834 to 1838, when Rev. John H. Bernheim became pastor.

This pastor remained three years, and then surrendered the congregation to the care of Rev. Jacob Zimmerman, who served them from October 16, 1841, to January 30, 1859. The salary received by Pastor Zimmerman amounted to $90 a year. When Pastor Zimmerman began his work here, the congregation was still worshipping in the old log church. Larger quarters then became imperative; and a new frame church, often called the "White Church", was dedicated on November 23, 1842.

Pastors Nicholas P. Hacke and William Weinel of the Reformed, and Michael J. Steck, John H. Bernheim, and Jacob Zimmerman of the Lutheran Church, were present at the dedication. No names of communicants were entered in the old "Kirchen Buch" of St. Jacob's until June 11, 1843, when Pastor Zimmerman administered the sacrament to 96 persons, 36 of whom were confirmed on the previous day.

In addition to those noted in the communion lists of Pastor Reichert, the following family names now appear:
Alcorn, Potts, Heilman, Townsend, Row, Dillinger, Henke, Young, Stouch, Kling- ensmith, Iseman, King, Rowley, and Harper.

During the pastorate of Rev. Zimmerman the following men served as members of the Church Council:

Jacob Rupert, Christian Rupert, John Schaeffer, David Altman

William Heinzelmann, Philip Rupert, John Frantz, Robert Townsend

Michael Schott, Philip Frantz, Lewis Adair, Jacob Row, Absalom Smith

Isaac Schott, Peter Heffelfinger, and Jacob Klingensmith.

Reformed and Lutherans worshipped together in the frame church of 1842 for a period of thirty-eight years. The present frame church was built by Lutherans alone, and was dedicated by Pastor Jacob H. Wright, January 14, 1881. It was built upon a quarter-acre lot donated by Frantz George, and cost $2,365.

In 1891 the Reformed built a new church in South Bend; and the last united act of the two congregations was to dispose of the old church building at public sale. The synodical relations of this venerable church have been varied, the people being governed by the wishes of their pastor.

From 1823 to 1825 it was in connection with the Ministerium of Pennsylvania; from 1825 to 1841 in the West Pennsylvania Synod; from 1841 to 1860 in the Ohio Synod; since 1860 in the Pittsburgh Synod. On April 7, 1860, the constitution recommended by the Pittsburgh Synod was adopted.

In 1867 the General Council controversy made quite a stir in the community, but the influence of Rev. Jacob H. Wright was dominant, and the congregation cast its lot with the General Synod. One of the pastors of St. Jacob's, Rev. Carl Frank Miller, closed his pastorate in death, April 6, 1915. It was during his short pastorate that a parsonage was secured in Elderton.

The following is a consecutive list of the regular pastorates:
Rev. G. A. Reichert, 1823-1834; Vacant, 1834-1838; Rev. John H. Bernheim,1838-1841;
Rev. Jacob Zimmerman, 1841-1859; Rev. David McKee, 1860-1866; Rev. J. H. Wright, 1866-1887;
Rev. J. W. Hutchison, 1887-1889; Rev. T. J. Frederick, 1890-1896; Rev. I, C. M. Wachter, 1896-1898;
Rev. J. A. Flickinger, 1899-1900; Rev. Jacob M. Hankey, 1900-1903; Rev. C. L. Wisswaesser,1904-1905;
Rev. W. L. Price, 1905-1909; Rev. J. L. Nicholas,1910-1913; Rev. C. F. Mi1Ier, 1913-1915;
Rev. J. M. Stover, 1915-1917; Rev. J. F. Booher, 1918-1921; Rev. Oscar Woods, 1921-.

The above information is from :
Memorial History of the Pittsburgh Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
1748 - 1845 - 1924
By: Ellis Beaver Burgess
Published for the Synod
By The Beaver Printing Co., Greenville, PA ~ 1925