Midstate borough claims ownership of historic church, paving path to preservation

• Rachel McDevitt/StateImpact Pennsylvania
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  I report on energy and the environment for StateImpact Pennsylvania at WITF.
  
  My work focuses on responses and solutions to climate change in the state legislature and communities around the state. I trace my interest in these issues back to my time as a Girl Scout and this episode of Rocko’s Modern Life.
  
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  I grew up in Cambria County, Pa. and graduated from Temple University. I started at WITF just after Christmas in 2014.

 Courtesy Greater Carlisle Heart and Soul

The cemetery at Mount Tabor AME Church in Mount Holly Springs, Cumberland County.

(Harrisburg) — A historic midstate church that’s fallen into disrepair over decades has a new owner and preservationists are hailing the move as a huge step forward.

The Mount Tabor AME Church in Mount Holly Springs, Cumberland County was rediscovered through an oral history project in 2016.

A former slave founded the church in 1870, and it served an African American community until about the 1970s. It’s believed to be the only AME Zion Church in the county that exists in its original form.

But it is in rough shape, with severe termite damage and foundation issues.

Now that the borough has taken ownership of the structure, Lindsay Varner with the Cumberland County Historical Society said preservation groups can apply for grants and other funding.

“With the borough taking ownership, we can go into 2020 really looking to preserve this site for the future,” Varner said.

The historical society and Mount Tabor Preservation Project plan to partner with Preservation Pennsylvania to study next steps. Opportunities exist for tourism and education programs at the site.

Varner said she hopes the site can become a public space that helps tell the story of the African American experience in the region.

Preservation Pennsylvania placed the site on its at-risk list last year. The group’s Julia Chain said the church is “nationally significant” because it is representative of a people, time period, and construction method. She added any plans for the site must make sure it is used and valued after preservation.

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