The history of Buckingham Presbyterian Church. (organized by Rev. Francis Makemie 1683)
In 1683, the congregation of Buckingham was one of the first six organized in the Colonies by Rev. Francis Makemie, Father of Organized Presbyterianism in America. The first of Buckingham's meeting houses was located on Buckingham Plantation, south of Berlin and named for the plantation. In 1697, the Sheriff reported that it was "30 feet long, a plain building" on the "Road going up along the Seaside." It was abandoned. The next two churches were built on the grounds of BUCKINGHAM CEMETERY. The second church was torn down after it was "injured" in a snowstorm in 1757; the third church, a fine brick one, was destroyed by heavy winds in 1866. The Session decided to move the next church into Berlin, so this property was purchased and the fourth was built in 1858. It burned in the Berlin Town Fire in 1904. The cornerstone for this sanctuary was laid in 1905 and the Holmesburg granite church was raised in 1906. Exceptional stained glass windows adorn it. The sanctuary was rededicated in 2005.
We are honored to have you as a member or guest of our historical meeting place.
