Lansford Historical Society looks to restore Old Welsh Church

The 12 light bulbs in the chandelier at Lansford’s Old Welsh Church are labeled “street railway,” which historian Bruce Markovich says means they most likely came from a trolley car.

“The trolley went out of business in 1934. So that means these bulbs have been in there since at least then,” Markovich said.

That’s only part of the history of the chandelier, which dates to the 1870s, and the building itself, which opened in 1850.

The Lansford Historical Society is currently attempting to restore that history. This week, as they prepare to take down the chandelier, the historical society turned on those bulbs one more time. After eight decades, 11 of the 12 light bulbs worked.

For 20-plus years, the Welsh Church was the only church in the entire Panther Valley. Its first members were the people who built the valley. Over its lifetime it served as a school, temporary flu hospital and barracks during a mine worker strike in 1902.

Its members included many bosses from the mines at the time, including two men whose deaths led to the Molly Maguire executions in 1877.

One of the members was John Jones, who was allegedly killed by the Molly Maguires Monday, Sept. 3, 1875. Markovich believes he probably attended a service at the Welsh Church the day before he died.

A prayer book recovered from the church along with a number of century-old Bibles have Jones’ name inside of it.

“He may have been in this church 24 hours before he died. Less than 24 hours before he died, he could have held this book,” Markovich said.

Another church member, Morgan Powell, had been allegedly killed by the Mollies a few years earlier. Markovich says it must have been a stressful time for the church.

“Can you imagine what they thought, sitting in here the Sunday after Jones was killed? They were thinking, am I next?

The church stopped holding regular services in the 1930s, however it was maintained through the ’50s. Another restoration project took place in the ’80s, but unfortunately a fire damaged the interior of the building around 2002.

The chandelier was added to the church in the 1870s. Markovich believes it was originally built for candles because it is suspended on a rod with four springs that allow someone to easily drop it from the ceiling and then raise it again.

From there, he said, it was converted to gas, before finally electricity.

Markovich is hoping to take down the chandelier and have it restored, so it can be returned to its perch when the church itself is restored. Somewhere along the way it was painted black, so he plans to return it to its original luster.

Markovich and the historical society want to save the building because of its significance to the history of the town. Someday, it could serve as a space for events.

It will take a lot of work, but Markovich hasn’t backed down from a challenge when it comes to the history of the Panther Valley, even when restoring artifacts which are seemingly beyond repair.

“Because of the background of the building, this is something you enjoy working on. It would be nice if it wasn’t in this condition to start with, but still,” Markovich said.

The historical society is accepting donations to help its restoration efforts at the church.

For more information about the society, or to make a donation, call 570-617-4683.