Unitarian Church
Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A fine example of Greek Revival architecture. It was erected in 1835-36 at a cost of $3500, mostly given by Shippen and Huidekoper families. Planned by the builder of Fort Sumter, General George W. Cullum.
The Story
In the 1830s the young town of Meadville, one of northwestern Pennsylvania's earliest settlements, raised this temple-fronted meeting house in the Greek Revival style then sweeping the nation—its columns and clean lines meant to echo the democratic ideals of ancient Athens. The roughly $3,500 cost was underwritten largely by two of the region's leading families, the Shippens and the Huidekopers, whose fortunes were tied to the settlement and land business of the frontier era. Its design is credited to George W. Cullum, a West Point–trained Army engineer who worked on the nation's coastal fortifications—among them Fort Sumter—before rising to Union general during the Civil War.
Why it matters
The church shows how a remote frontier town announced its permanence and ambition through fashionable Greek Revival architecture, and it links a quiet Pennsylvania congregation to one of the most famous structures in American history through its designer.
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Related people
- · George W. Cullum
- · Shippen family
- · Huidekoper family
Related events
- · Construction of the Unitarian Church, 1835–36
Themes & tags
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