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“I don’t see how I can live in a town that lacks a Presbyterian Church.”  Those were the words of Jacob Yost’s fiancée, Mary.  Yost was a retiring Congressman from Pottstown, but he was Lutheran.  She was a young widow who met Jacob in Washington, D.C., and a staunch Presbyterian originally from Troy, New York.  She accepted Jacob’s proposal for marriage, but her remark would prove to be the catalyst for the organization of the new church.  Jacob joined Mary in helping to organize a Presbyterian church along with eight other pioneering...

Arch Street Presbyterian Church’s history stretches back over 200 years, including several name changes and five congregational mergers.  Members of the Evangelical & Reformed congregation were organized as the Fifth Presbyterian Church in April 1813, meeting in the Musical Fund Hall on Locust near 7th St. In 1823, the congregation moved into a building on Arch and 10th Streets.

In 1850, the existing church requested dissolution, and a new congregation, organized as the Arch Street Presbyterian Church, purchased the property at 10th and Arch Streets. Rev. Charles...