Jacob's Creek Valley in Fayette and Westmoreland counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania was the site of what seems to have been the first Mennonite set­tlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and the second oldest in the Allegheny Conference District. The pioneer settlers came to Jacob's Creek Valley in the period prior to 1789 on to 1800 from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Washington County, Maryland. Early names were Strickler, Stauffer, Shallenberger, Sherrick, Shank, and Rist. The settlers south of Jacob's Creek built a meetinghouse near Pennsville before 1800, and this group was sometimes called the congrega­tion of Jacob's Creek Valley. Those north of the creek built a place of worship at Stonerville in about 1800. These two congregations were later merged into one with a meetinghouse in Scottdale, Pennsylvania.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 64. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2012 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.