All Saints Episcopal Church
129 N. Market Street

All Saints in 1915. From the Charles L. Fasold Flickr collection, https://flic.kr/p/KCpmXZ

→ Construction began in 1899, and the church was dedicated November 3, 1900, All Saints Day..

→ Founder was Mary Kittera Snyder, granddaughter of Governor Simon Snyder.

→ Original cost $5,027 funded by Ms. Snyder.

→ Shape is cruciform, the shape of a cross with a nave, chancel, and sanctuary.

→ SPECIAL FEATURES:

  • Celtic Cross atop the belfry;
  • Bell named “The Governor.”
  • Stained glass windows on all four sides.
  • Gothic arch above the altar;
  • Great round window on west side with four floral panels.

All Saints Church on a 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance map. From the Penn State Sanborn Collection

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(1/4) Mary Kittera Snyder

Mary Kittera Snyder, founder of All Saints, was the daughter of John Snyder, Governor Simon Snyder’s oldest son. Financial misfortune caused her to move from Philadelphia to Selinsgrove, where she undertook the care of an invalid aunt and conducted a private school. Upon the death of her aunt, Anne, Kittera inherited land in Illinois which, once sold, gave her the funds to build an Episcopal Church in the town of Selinsgrove where the sacraments would be celebrated according to the Book of Common Prayer, which she loved and which directed her life.

(2/4) Dedication

Mary Snyder kept the construction of All Saints under careful supervision, visiting the site several times every day. One of her fondest hopes was to have the church dedicated on All Saints Day in 1900. However, she died in her home on July 27th of that year.  Her funeral was the first service in the nearly complete edifice. Mary Snyder willed the neighboring log house to the church and, for a time, it served as the church’s rectory.

(3/4) Fellowship Hall

The Fellowship Hall was added in the 2000s. It is a multipurpose facility, serving as a precinct for elections and as a site for community free meals.

(4/4) Transition

All Saints Church was consecrated on November 3, 1908 by the first Bishop of Harrisburg, Rt. Rev’d. James Henry Darlington. It continued under the care of the diocese as a mission church until 1987, when it became a parish of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.

Selinsgrove Historical Association