Casselman River Conservative Amish Mennonite congregation, located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and Garrett Co., Maryland, was a member of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference (now Conservative Mennonite Conference), and worshipped in three meetinghouses: Maple Glen, near Grantsville, Maryland; Oak Dale, near Salisbury, Pennsylvania; and Cherry Glade, near Bittinger, Maryland. Later these became independent congregations.

The congregation dates back to about 1770-1775, when the first Amish pioneers settled along the Casselman River, the settlement extending within a few decades on both sides of the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line. (See Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and Garrett County, Maryland).

Differences in the Amish Church in these counties resulted in a division in 1895. Of the two groups, the more liberal became the Conservative Amish Mennonite congregation with a membership of 118, under the leadership of Bishop Joel J. Miller, Minister Jacob S. Miller, and deacons Elias D. Hershberger and John Brenneman. These men had been ordained in the Amish Church and served the charge on the Maryland side of the line before the division, with the exception of Elias D. Hershberger, who served as deacon in the charge on the Pennsylvania side of the state line.

Of the four Amish meetinghouses in the two counties, the two in Garrett County, Maryland, became the property of this congregation at the time of the division. Maple Glen, built in 1881, was used until 1946, when it was replaced by a new frame structure, with initial services held on Pentecost, 16 May 1948. Cherry Glade, a frame structure, also built in 1881, continued in use in the 1950s. Oak Dale, a frame structure, was built in 1896 to serve the northern end of the congregation. All ministers in the district served in turn at the three meetinghouses in the 1950s.

The first English sermon was preached at a funeral in July 1898 by Jonas B. Miller. In the 1950s both the German and English languages were used in the services. Sunday schools had been organized in the Amish Church before the division, as early as 1893, and continued from the beginning of this congregation. The membership in the district in 1952 was 242; it was entirely rural.

Ministers and bishops who served the congregation until 1952 were: Joel J. Miller, ordained preacher in 1880, bishop 1887-1915; Jacob S. Miller, 1886-1915; Jonas B. Miller, 1897-1952; Noah J. Brenneman, 1913-1948; Christian W. Bender, minister in 1915, bishop 1916- ; Shem Peachey, 1930- ; Ivan J. Miller, 1938- ; Mark Peachey, 1946- ; Simon D. Beachy, 1946- ; Paul E. Yoder, 1952- .

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To cite this page:

MLA style: Miller, Ivan J. "Casselman River Conservative Amish Mennonite Congregation (Maryland/Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C453.html>

APA style: Miller, Ivan J. (1953). "Casselman River Conservative Amish Mennonite Congregation (Maryland/Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/C453.html>