Christmas arrives early in Eldersville
Horse and carriage rides are featured at the Christmas in the Village Festival in Eldersville.
The historic White Church dating to 1844 in Eldersville
Customers mingle with crafters inside the historic White Church during Christmas in the Village Saturday in Eldersville.
Santa Claus, portrayed by Walt Carpenter of North Hills, entertains Samantha Powers, 6, of Langeloth as Mrs. Claus, portrayed by Rose Carpenter, smiles at Christmas in the Village Saturday in Eldersville.
The historic White Church in Eldersville was founded by abolitionists. It went on to serve as a one-room schoolhouse and later a residence before it was purchased by the local historical society.
The quaint building dating to 1844 also hosts crafters every November when the village opens its doors to the Christmas in the Village Craft Festival.
“All that was left was the frame when we got it,” Jefferson Township Historical Society member John Ratkovitch said Saturday, the second day of the festival that ended Sunday.
The festival is in its 29th year in the village, said Peggy Strain, a team leader of the event.
It was begun by a group of “very crafty” people who decided to open up their homes as a festival to sell their projects.
“I think it’s wonderful how the community comes together for this,” Strain said while manning the festival’s tiny welcome center.
She said the festival is different than others because the crafters are required to handcraft everything they offer for sale in Eldersville.
The festival also featured an encampment of mountain men, horse and carriage rides and an handmade miniature train.
The historical society set up a display in a small building near its church, oddly showing off a small wooden coffin that was once used in rituals at the local Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
The church was founded by members of the local Methodist Church who disagreed with its decision to support slavery in the decades leading up to the Civil War, Ratkovitch said.
Later “the instigators moved to Chicago. There were a lot of hard feelings,” he said.
The society acquired the property in 1990, he said, and rebuilt the structure with money received in donations and a more than $70,000 grant from the local share of the gambling revenue at The Meadows Casino in North Strabane Township.
Ratkovitch said the building is the only abolitionist church believed to be still standing in Washington County.