Robert Lowry
Lewisburg, Union County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The famed hymn-writer lived in this house, 1869-75. Here, some of his best known hymns were written. His music was sung in many foreign lands. One of his works is, "Shall We Gather at the River." Lowry died in 1899.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
The hymn writer Robert Lowry lived in this Lewisburg house from 1869 to 1875, a productive stretch during which he composed some of the works that carried his name around the world. Among them is "Shall We Gather at the River," a hymn still sung in churches far beyond America. A Baptist minister as well as a composer, Lowry helped shape the sound of 19th-century American gospel music before his death in 1899.
Why it matters
It honors a figure whose hymns became part of the shared devotional soundtrack of American life and spread American gospel music worldwide.
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