The Crown Hill Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA),  Wayne County, Ohio, founded by settlers from Switzerland and Upper Alsace in 1825, was first known as Chippewa. It was organized between 1825 and 1834 with Peter Steiner and Daniel Steiner as ministers. This congregation in the earlier years was a part of the Sonnenberg congregation in southern Wayne County. Although the Sonnenberg congregation erected a log meetinghouse in 1834, the Crown Hill group had no separate meetinghouse until 1850. This was erected on the Christian Steiner farm approximately one mile northwest of the present Crown Hill Church. The first church at Crown Hill was erected in 1883. The Sunday school, organized in 1874, at first met violent opposition from the older members because they felt it would mean losing the German language.  Among those active in the congregation were C. D. Steiner, D. C. Amstutz, John Amstutz, and Fred Amstutz. The first lay
Sunday-school superintendents, John Ulrich and Daniel Steiner, were elected in 1883. On 4 August 1936 the Crown Hill meetinghouse built in 1883 was destroyed by storm. The work on the new building began on 27 August of the same year. The Crown Hill congregation then occupied a modern well-equipped up-to-date church building. Its membership in 1954 was 149.  Ministers in 1954 were Noah Hilty and John Drescher. In 2006 the membership was 121; the pastor was Gordon Miller.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Address: 9693 Benner Road, Rittman, Ohio

Phone: 330-927-1716

Denominational Affiliations:

Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA

Mennonite Church USA 

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 743. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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