The Depreciation Lands is an area with a unique history.

North of the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers to about 4 miles north of the city of Butler, and East from Ohio into Armstrong County, North East of Kittanning.

These were hunting grounds of the Six Nations of the Iroquois tribes and not open to settlement by Europeans, until acquired by Pennsylvania after 1784, and granted after the Revolutionary War to men who had served in the continental forces as “Pennsylvania Line” or “Pennsylvania Navy” in place of depreciated currency.

Eventually, after 1792, the land was open to settlement by non-veteran civilians and many settlers and immigrants migrated westward.

In 1807, a small church was started in 1807 by the Rev. John Black and a group of believers who wanted a place to worship. The group which was organized were known as the Covenanters. The congregation’s original location, North at 5137 Route 8, where the Quality Inn is now.

During the 1830s the Reformed Presbyterian congregation split into the “New Light” group, which supported political rights and remained at the original building, while the Old Light congregation, which adhered to the old beliefs began building a new home and cemetery here.

The church building at this location was built around 1837-38, and was used until after the last congregation member died in 1925 and stood vacant until 1947 when it passed into the hands of St. Thomas in the Fields Episcopal Church, and later Calvary Independent Baptist Church.

Fifty years ago, urged by Hampton Historical Commission member Sandy Miller, the township took control of the land to maintain the church as a museum, once negotiations with the Episcopal church and the Anderson family were completed.

In the churchyard, there are many monuments marking the final resting place of past members, some over a century old. The earliest date is 1814, the latest is 1972.

Hampton Historical Commission dedication of the Museum Sunday December 9, and the museum opened in the summer as part of Hampton Township’s Fourth of July celebration.

Logs from an early 1800s log house were dismantled and removed from the original site on Middle Road, to the museum grounds and the Anderson Log House was reconstructed on site over a several year period.

The church, its cemetery and log house are all from the early period of the township. The church building, after years of not being used required renovations and repairs made by volunteers. Below are some accounts from newspaper articles that recall some experiences with The amiable apparition, dubbed “The Deacon” by museum workers.

… Rarely showing himself, several volunteers agree that they have felt the gentle power of the specter’s invisible hands.