Camp Curtin Memorial-Mitchell United Methodist Church

The beginning of the Camp Curtin Church can be traced to an organization of a Sunday School in north Harrisburg led by the Rev. Dr. Thomas Wilcox on May 12, 1889. Within a year, the Curtin Heights Methodist Episcopal Church was built and by 1893, two wings were added. On December 30, 1894, the church and all of its contents were destroyed by fire and a new church was finished in 1895 on the same site.  By 1916, the membership had grown so large that the present sanctuary and bell tower were added to the 1895 structure. Since the church was located on the site of Camp Curtin, it was designated a memorial to all Civil War soldiers and the name was changed to Camp Curtin Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church.  A large allegorical painting – depicting Christ appearing to a dying soldier, dressed in blue and gray – still adorns the sanctuary wall.  In 1922, the monument to Governor Curtin was erected adjacent to the church.  In 1989, a merger with the nearby Mitchell congregation resulted in the Camp Curtin Memorial-Mitchell United Methodist Church’s new name.  The Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, one of few churches listed in the Register.