Mount Calvary Cemetery is a nineteenth century cemetery located at 1715 Middletown Road, McKees Rocks, PA 15136, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, approximately 3 miles outside of Pittsburgh. It was originally named Clever Cemetery and was part of the Clever family farm property in Robinson Township, although changes in municipal jurisdictions now find the property straddling McKees Rocks Borough and Kennedy Township. In May,1852, Mr. Martin Clever, Sr. “kindly donated one acre (valued $110 ~) for the site & burial ground of an Evangelical Lutheran Church.”[1]
On Sunday, February 27, 1853, the first service of the church was conducted by Rev. Henry Reck of Birmingham (now the South Side of Pittsburgh) in the home of Martin Clever. A week later in the same home, Monday evening, March 7, 1853, Rev. William A. Passavant of Pittsburgh conducted a similar service in which Ephraim J. Brooks, Martin Clever, Jr. and Cornelius Scully were appointed as the church building committee. A fund of $1,000 was soon raised through subscriptions “and the aid of several ladies,” and John Glass of Pittsburgh was contracted to build the small frame church for that sum.[2] “The work was at once begun & pushed through with unusual vigor.”[3]
Sunday, December 20, 2020
The History of Mount Calvary Cemetery, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
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| First Church Building built 1853; rebuilt 1890. |
While the church was being built, monthly religious services continued to be held in the house of Martin Clever, Sr. Upon completion, the church was “dedicated to the worship of the Trinnety (sic),” and received the name of Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, on September 4, 1853, with Rev. William A. Passavant, Rev. Henry Reck, and Rev. F. W. Tuerk of the Lutheran Church being assisted by Rev. Jennings of the Presbyterians.[4] The congregation of nine members was constituted on November 12, 1853, and Rev. Milton Valentine was called as pastor to conduct services every other Sunday for $100, “payable semi-annually.”[5] Rev. Valentine served only until May 1 of the following year, 1854.[6]
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| Church Parsonage, 1854. |
The first parsonage for Mt. Calvary was erected at the cemetery in 1854,[7] and the congregation was legally chartered on October 18, 1855.[8] On November 26, 1855, Martin Clever and his wife sold another acre to Mt. Calvary for $1.00 and an additional three acres on September 1, 1860 for $350 (ten more acres were purchased from the Clever heirs in 1912, and another ten were purchased from the Heinauer heirs in 1920).[9] In the spring of 1890, part of the cemetery ground was leased to an oil company. Three wells were subsequently drilled, and the congregation began “reaping dividends at the rate of $100 a day.” When the church had amassed about $6,000, it was decided to rebuild the church. The new church building was dedicated by Pastor J. Q. Waters on February 22, 1891, with a sermon preached by Rev. William A. Passavant.[10]
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| Furnace Street church, 1897. |
Isolated in a rural field and uphill from the growing town of McKees Rocks, it was decided to build a third house of worship in town only five years later. On May 31, 1896, three lots on the corner of Furnace Street and Chartiers Avenue were bought from John A. McKee. The cornerstone was laid on May 9, 1897, and the church was dedicated by Pastor Robert R. Durst on November 21, 1897. Total cost for the site and building came to $6900. In 1903, the original parsonage at the cemetery was torn down, and in 1907, a new parsonage was built on Mary Street in McKees Rocks at a cost of $7300, the same year that the McKees Rocks church building was raised above flood level at a cost of $1300. The congregation continued to conduct services at both the cemetery and McKees Rocks churches, known as the “upper” and “lower” churches, until 1911, when those at the cemetery church were discontinued except for funerals. The upper church at the cemetery was finally razed in 1923.[11]
In 1920, the second parsonage in McKees Rocks was sold, and property on the corner of Dale Street and Russelwood Avenue in neighboring Stowe Township was purchased for $10,500. Ground was broken on November 16, 1924, and a fourth church for the Mt. Calvary congregation was built for $78,000, incorporating the tower bell from the first Mt. Calvary church. Rev. John J. Myers presided over the dedication on October 18, 1925.[12] Burials at the Mt. Calvary cemetery continued without any church structures on the property, although the church owned a house across the street from the cemetery at 1600 Middletown Road (Chartiers Avenue Ext.) for the use of the cemetery sexton.[13] In 1959, the original church building site on the eastern edge of the cemetery, which had been left undeveloped since the upper church was razed, was prepared for use as additional burial lots. In 1960, the church council decided to raise $30,000 to build a new home and office for the Sexton at the cemetery and grading additional ground for burial plots, and an architect was hired to draw up plans for a new sexton’s home on sections K-1 and K-2, at the western edge of the cemetery.[14] However, such a building was never constructed.
Instead, in the spring of 1962, Mt. Calvary approached Joseph Bayer, owner of the Bayer Dairy adjacent to sections K-1 and K-2 of the cemetery, about the possibility of purchasing the dairy property. In March, 1963, the congregation bought the building and property from Bayer for $24,000, which extended the cemetery property to Howard Street. Subsequently, plans for building on sections K-1 and K-2 were abandoned, and this portion of the cemetery property was converted to use as burial lots, the sale of which over time was expected to offset the purchase price of the Bayer property as well as construction costs for a new house and office.[15] By September 1963, plans for a new building costing $23,349 were approved, and construction was completed by the summer of 1964.[16]
In 1920, the second parsonage in McKees Rocks was sold, and property on the corner of Dale Street and Russelwood Avenue in neighboring Stowe Township was purchased for $10,500. Ground was broken on November 16, 1924, and a fourth church for the Mt. Calvary congregation was built for $78,000, incorporating the tower bell from the first Mt. Calvary church. Rev. John J. Myers presided over the dedication on October 18, 1925.[12] Burials at the Mt. Calvary cemetery continued without any church structures on the property, although the church owned a house across the street from the cemetery at 1600 Middletown Road (Chartiers Avenue Ext.) for the use of the cemetery sexton.[13] In 1959, the original church building site on the eastern edge of the cemetery, which had been left undeveloped since the upper church was razed, was prepared for use as additional burial lots. In 1960, the church council decided to raise $30,000 to build a new home and office for the Sexton at the cemetery and grading additional ground for burial plots, and an architect was hired to draw up plans for a new sexton’s home on sections K-1 and K-2, at the western edge of the cemetery.[14] However, such a building was never constructed.
Instead, in the spring of 1962, Mt. Calvary approached Joseph Bayer, owner of the Bayer Dairy adjacent to sections K-1 and K-2 of the cemetery, about the possibility of purchasing the dairy property. In March, 1963, the congregation bought the building and property from Bayer for $24,000, which extended the cemetery property to Howard Street. Subsequently, plans for building on sections K-1 and K-2 were abandoned, and this portion of the cemetery property was converted to use as burial lots, the sale of which over time was expected to offset the purchase price of the Bayer property as well as construction costs for a new house and office.[15] By September 1963, plans for a new building costing $23,349 were approved, and construction was completed by the summer of 1964.[16]
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| Former sexton's residence, now rented (left) and cemetery office (right). |
The original Bayer Dairy building was converted to storage for cemetery equipment. Cemetery sexton Ed Schuler and his family moved from the 1600 Middletown Road home into the new home and office at this time.[17]
In 1968, the congregation of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church gave up their building on Chartiers Avenue in McKees Rocks and merged with Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church to form Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Stowe building.[18] The Mt. Calvary Cemetery retained their old name, although it was now owned by a new entity, Good Shepherd. That same year, the house at 1600 Middletown Road was sold to Ed Schuler, the last cemetery sexton to have lived there, upon his retirement, and the Schuler family would continue to live there for a number of years. Frank Deutsch assumed the duties of cemetery sexton in 1968 and moved into the sexton’s home and office with his wife and two children, residing there until 1986. The current cemetery sexton, George Demko, resided in the sexton’s home from 1986 until 2006.[19] The sexton’s home became the church parsonage when Rev. and Mrs. John G. Bateson moved in on October 20, 2006.[20]
Mt. Calvary Cemetery, a historic nineteenth-century institution, continues to serve as an active site for personal and family memorials, and has increasingly become a vital center for community commemoration into the twenty-first century. Veteran Day services have been held at the cemetery since 2006 in conjunction with several local churches, Veterans of Foreign Wars Vesle Post #418, American Legion Sto-Rox Post #618, and representatives of the armed services in attendance.[21]
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| Veteran Day Service, November 11, 2009. |
A new section of burial plots will become available in 2011, increasing the number of plots currently available, and assuring Mt. Calvary’s importance to the future of Allegheny County for decades to come.
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[Note: All sources are documents are from the files of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and the Mt. Calvary Cemetery offices unless otherwise noted.]
[1] “History of the Mt. Calvary Ev. Luth. Ch.,” handwritten document, no date (hereafter “HMC”), p. 4, and “Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, McKees Rocks, PA”, typewritten document, no date (hereafter “MCE”), p. 1.
[2] HMC, p. 6, and MCE, p. 1.
[3] HMC, p. 6.
[4] HMC, p. 6, and MCE, p. 1.
[5] HMC, p. 10, and MCE, p. 2.
[6] A Souvenir of Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, October 12, 1890, p. 2; MCE, p. 2; HMC, p. 14.
[7] Reverse of sepia tone photograph, n.d.
[8] Application for charter of incorporation, carbon copy of typewritten document, October 18, 1855.
[9] Various deeds are on file at Mt. Calvary Cemetery office.
[10] MCE, p. 2; Kurt F. Kusserow, Bishop, letter to Pastor John Bateson, August 26, 2008, reprinted in 40th Anniversary, September 7, 2008: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, commemorative booklet, p. 2.
[11] MCE, p. 2; Program of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Mount Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, October 21-26, 1928, p. 5, and Corner-Stone Laying of the English Lutheran Mission Church, McKees Rocks, Pa., at 3 p.m., May 9,1897, service bulletin.
[12] MCE, p. 3.
[13] Conversation with George Demko, cemetery sexton, July 21, 2010.
[14] “Record of minutes of Mt. Calvary Cemetery Committee meetings from May 13, 1960 to January 11, 1967,” typewritten document, n.d. (hereafter “Minutes”), pp. 1-4.
[15] Deed, Joseph A. and Anna E. Bayer and Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, May 13, 1963, Allegheny County Deed Book Vol. 4047, pp. 381-382; Minutes, pp. 2-4.
[16] Minutes, p. 5; Mt. Calvary Ev. Lutheran Church, letter to Rutledge Construction Company, September 9, 1964; James A. West, letter to Stanley Kalsey, Cemetery Committee, Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, August 10, 1965.
[17] Conversation with George Demko, July 21, 2010; conversation with Patricia Donovan, August 16, 2010. It is not clear how the house at 1600 Middletown Road was utilized between 1964 and 1968, although it remained the property of the church.
[18] Kurt F. Kusserow, Bishop, letter to Pastor John Bateson, August 26, 2008, reprinted in 40th Anniversary, September 7, 2008: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, commemorative booklet, p. 2.
[19] Conversation with George Demko, July 21, 2010.
[20] Conversation with Rev. John G. Bateson, present pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church (formerly Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church), July 14, 2010; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church bulletin, November 9, 2008; and Veterans Day Service program, November 11, 2009.
[21] Conversation with Rev. John G. Bateson, present pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church (formerly Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church), July 14, 2010; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church bulletin, November 9, 2008; and Veterans Day Service program, November 11, 2009.
[2] HMC, p. 6, and MCE, p. 1.
[3] HMC, p. 6.
[4] HMC, p. 6, and MCE, p. 1.
[5] HMC, p. 10, and MCE, p. 2.
[6] A Souvenir of Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, October 12, 1890, p. 2; MCE, p. 2; HMC, p. 14.
[7] Reverse of sepia tone photograph, n.d.
[8] Application for charter of incorporation, carbon copy of typewritten document, October 18, 1855.
[9] Various deeds are on file at Mt. Calvary Cemetery office.
[10] MCE, p. 2; Kurt F. Kusserow, Bishop, letter to Pastor John Bateson, August 26, 2008, reprinted in 40th Anniversary, September 7, 2008: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, commemorative booklet, p. 2.
[11] MCE, p. 2; Program of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Mount Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, October 21-26, 1928, p. 5, and Corner-Stone Laying of the English Lutheran Mission Church, McKees Rocks, Pa., at 3 p.m., May 9,1897, service bulletin.
[12] MCE, p. 3.
[13] Conversation with George Demko, cemetery sexton, July 21, 2010.
[14] “Record of minutes of Mt. Calvary Cemetery Committee meetings from May 13, 1960 to January 11, 1967,” typewritten document, n.d. (hereafter “Minutes”), pp. 1-4.
[15] Deed, Joseph A. and Anna E. Bayer and Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, May 13, 1963, Allegheny County Deed Book Vol. 4047, pp. 381-382; Minutes, pp. 2-4.
[16] Minutes, p. 5; Mt. Calvary Ev. Lutheran Church, letter to Rutledge Construction Company, September 9, 1964; James A. West, letter to Stanley Kalsey, Cemetery Committee, Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, August 10, 1965.
[17] Conversation with George Demko, July 21, 2010; conversation with Patricia Donovan, August 16, 2010. It is not clear how the house at 1600 Middletown Road was utilized between 1964 and 1968, although it remained the property of the church.
[18] Kurt F. Kusserow, Bishop, letter to Pastor John Bateson, August 26, 2008, reprinted in 40th Anniversary, September 7, 2008: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, commemorative booklet, p. 2.
[19] Conversation with George Demko, July 21, 2010.
[20] Conversation with Rev. John G. Bateson, present pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church (formerly Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church), July 14, 2010; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church bulletin, November 9, 2008; and Veterans Day Service program, November 11, 2009.
[21] Conversation with Rev. John G. Bateson, present pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church (formerly Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church), July 14, 2010; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church bulletin, November 9, 2008; and Veterans Day Service program, November 11, 2009.
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*Note: This text was composed by Donald E. Simpson in 2010, based on research compiled by Elizabeth M. Simpson and Bette Ann Kallay in the summer of 2010. A brochure of this text has been distributed in hardcopy ever since, and is available at the office of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 618 Russellwood Avenue, McKees Rocks PA 15136 and the office of Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 1715 Middletown Road, McKees Rocks PA 15136. Information was correct and current as of September 20, 2010.
Down In the Rocks is not affiliated with Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church McKees Rocks, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, or the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, nor has this content been authorized or approved by any of the aforementioned parties.
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Content is ™ and © Donald E. Simpson 2010, 2020, all rights reserved.
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