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TOWN CLOCK CHURCH (GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH)

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1848–1849, Harry Schmenner; John Hassel, builder. 312 Bedford St.
  • (Alexander Heilner)
  • (Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie)

This relatively austere, classical church was built by German Lutherans to accommodate the influx of German settlers to Cumberland during the mid-nineteenth century. Originally part of the St. Paul’s congregation, this group separated in order to maintain sermons in their native German. The town donated the land and offered a clock to the first of two German religious faiths competing to erect new edifices, lending the church its name. Legend has it that the Lutherans won because the women of the congregation provided torches to enable construction into the night. The church’s prominence within the city skyline is established by its hilltop location and soaring four-part tower that encompasses the clock, belfry, and spire. The church was designed by a member of the congregation. The interior comprises a narthex, nave, and raised chancel, with a balcony that features one of the oldest working Opus No. 36 Moller organs extant.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie
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What's Nearby

METROPOLITAN AME CHURCH
CUMBERLAND CITY HALL
BALTIMORE STREET COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND PEDESTRIAN MALL
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND PARISH HALL

Citation

Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie, "TOWN CLOCK CHURCH (GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH)", [Cumberland, Maryland], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MD-01-WM44.

Print Source

Buildings of Maryland, Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2022, 365-365.

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