Established in 1717-1718 by hard-working Swiss-German immigrants primarily from the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany, the Mennonite settlement at Salford had its origins in the larger story of German migration to Pennsylvania in the early eighteenth century. Described by civil authorities in Philadelphia as “an honest, industrious people,” these immigrants worked to establish a new community in a new land, and were soon gathering together for worship with others “of like, precious faith.” Meeting first in members’ simple homes or barns, they eventually built a meetinghouse-schoolhouse. The young congregation was blessed with gifted leaders—including Henry Funk, Dielman Kolb , and Christian Meyer—who each left their mark on the early Pennsylvania Mennonite experience.

From the beginning, the congregation took seriously the education of their children and was fortunate to have Christopher Dock as its beloved and respected schoolmaster throughout the mid eighteenth century. Dock himself wrote that he had “a special love” for youth and felt called of God to this work. He was one of the earliest practitioners in Pennsylvania of the text-based folk art now known as fraktur, and many examples of the artform survive from the Salford school.

By the late eighteenth century, the congregation (then known as Clemens Meeting) was well established with strong family networks in a prosperous agricultural community. The congregation grew through family growth. Ministerial leadership often descended through family lines. Through the years, the congregation was known for its simplicity, frugality, hard work, and thrift. When a new meetinghouse was to be built in 1850, one of the trustees wrote that the congregation would “not build a magnificent temple, . . . no extravagance, . . . only what is serviceable, orderly, becoming, and enduring.”

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought subtle cultural changes to the rural Mennonite community and congregation, with the coming of railroads to the region, the development of villages and towns, the acceptance of Sunday schools, and the significant transition from German to English as the language of worship and devotional life. Up through the mid twentieth century, ministers with no formal training were called from within the congregation through the “casting of lots.” Throughout the various wars of the twentieth century, most members maintained a “non-resistant” or pacifist position, in keeping with the teaching of the church and the example of Jesus as found in the New Testament. This led many to various types of alternate service in wartime and later into voluntary service during peacetime.

The second half of the twentieth century brought much cultural and social change, as the community transformed from a rural to a suburban setting in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Many families left farming as a primary occupation in this era, and in the late 1950s, young folks began attending Mennonite colleges in other states, and some went into international service and mission work. As some of these persons returned to the congregation, they brought new perspectives, ideas, and vision. Many began raising families. In the mid 1970s, the congregation began to attract and welcome new members from other backgrounds, adding more life and diversity. This trend has continued.

In response to vision within the congregation and needs in the community, a child care center was begun in the Salford Meetinghouse in 1984, with a second center being added at Dock Woods Community in Towamencin township in 1999. This has developed into a high-quality educational program and is recognized as an important mission and service to the community.

The once small and rural Salford community has undergone significant change in recent decades.  Mostly gone is the agrarian way of life many once knew.  With this change comes new possibilities.  Salford embraces this change and we look forward to the future, hopeful of what God will do in our midst.