Our History
A fuller description of the history of the Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel can be found in The Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel by William Weston.
The Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel is the oldest church building in the Borough of Northumberland, PA. The chapel was built in 1834 by members of the Unitarian Congregation and that included many descendents of Joseph Priestley’s grandson Joseph Raynor Priestley. The chapel served as the worship space for the congregation until the turn of the 20th century when the congregation size was too small to keep holding regular services. It was used periodically for worship as well as a school house and Red Cross building. Over the years many efforts to maintain the chapel were undertaken.
In early 1990’s a new Unitarian Universalist Congregation was formed that used the chapel for worship. The nurturing environment of the Chapel encouraged the growth of the congregation which within a decade outgrew the space of the Chapel. The congregation has relocated into a larger rental facility nearby. http://www.uucsv.org