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Also called First Baptist Church, Wayne Baptist Church
Founded 1832
Wayne, West Wayne Ave. and Conestoga Rd.
Disbanded in 1940s-'50s
One of Radnor’s first religious organizations, behind St. David’s Episcopal, was the Radnor Baptist Church. The first home of the Church was in the Radnor Scientific and Musical Hall, built in 1832 by Willam Siter. The Siter family was prominent in the area in that time, and at one point the location around what is now Strafford was called Siterville. Located directly behind the new church was the school house, built in 1841. In 1889 the old church building was replaced by a new stone building. The Church was demolished in 1951, and stores were built in its place, namely Conestoga Hardware. Today the schoolhouse still remains, as a private dwelling. The cemetery also remains between the schoolhouse and the Radnor Trail. Since the Church was disbanded, it is remarkable that these few relics remain.
Click on the images to see larger versions
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The Wayne Baptist Church's new stone building. A postcard of the church shows the west side.
Internet Source
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The Church prior to demolition in the 1950s. Note the Conestoga Hardware sign on the left.
Radnor Historical Society Collection
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The 1951 demolition of the church made the front page of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. This startling picture came with the title "Church Steeple Comes Tumbling Down in Wayne."
Radnor Historical Society Collection
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Sources:
© 2005 Wayne History Online / Greg Prichard
Page Last Updated : 4 November 2005
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