Our Congregation

The members of Falling Waters warmly welcome you in the name of Christ.  We are so glad that you are here!  Our site gives you some information about who we are, what missions we are involved in and how we worship.

Our congregation includes students, babes in arms, parents and families, independents, and elder generations with diverse interests and experiences. We believe the Good News of Jesus Christ; therefore God calls us to welcome all and to share this good news with everyone.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we worship a knowable God and study the Bible’s witness to God’s saving work in our lives and the lives of others.  As a result, we experience in our relationships and personal lives a love that heals, a hope that sustains and a forgiveness that brings peace.

We are Christians living learning sharing and growing within a fellowship unique in the world.  We invite you to join our family and our journey towards our fulfillment and spiritual joy in Jesus Christ.

Church History

Falling Waters Presbyterian Church was established in 1745 on a bluff just south of the ford of the Potomac River at Falling Waters (across from Williamsport, MD), in what was then Virginia. The church’s original cemetery remains at that site. In 1796, the congregation moved to Spring Mills, a tiny unincorporated rural village. They built a log church and established the cemetery immediately east of the church.

Local tradition says that the log church burned in 1834. A modest brick church took its place on the same site in 1834, patterned after Federal-style New England meetinghouses, with an interior balcony. The interior of the church is little altered from the original, retaining historic wood pews and the balcony.

In 1842, the church acquired 2.5 acres for an expansion of the cemetery, followed in 1897 by the acquisition of an additional 5 acres to increase the cemetery and to build a Manse (or pastor’s house). the current Manse was built in 1922, constructed of tile brick produced at the North Mountain brick plant. In the early 1900s, the vestibule was added to the church, and an adjoining addition to the church was built in 1969.

The cemetery contains the graves of many of the original settlers of the area, including the Harlans, who were local pioneers. The site of the church was acquired from John and Sarah Harlan.

The Falling Waters Presbyterian Church, the cemetery, and the Manse are three of seven places that contributed to the designation of the Spring Mills Historic District in 2002. The District consists of 28 acres around the intersection of Hammonds Mill Road and Harlan Spring Road. It is part of the National Register of Historic Places. The other four places contributing to the historic designation are the Steven-Hammond Mill, the stone spring house, the stone miller’s house, and the ruins of the Dr. Allen Hammond House (since restored). The house is directly across Hammonds Mill Road from the church. The mill and miller’s house are on the road just west of the church as you drive toward Hedgesville.

Interestingly, the address of the church has a Hedgesville zip code, and the Manse has a Martinsburg zip code!