St. Paul’s had its beginnings in 1827, when the Reverend Samuel Brinckle, Rector of Old St. David’s Radnor, met in his spare time with interested residents in school houses in both East and West Whiteland. As transportation to church services was difficult in rural Chester County during the early 1800’s, some members of St. Peter’s in the Great Valley who were living in the Whitelands, as well as a few un-churched inhabitants requested the Reverend Samuel Crawford Brinckle to preach in West Whiteland on evenings in a school house when his schedule permitted. A business meeting was called at Steamboat Tavern with the purpose of establishing a new church. Col. Cromwell Pearce, Sr., a member of St. Peter’s, was chosen chairman and Joseph B. Jacobs as secretary. These two men were charged with the task of choosing a site for possible purchase “as near the 24th mile stone (on the Philadelphia Lancaster Turnpike) as can be had for the erection of said Church.”

The community responded by raising $1,901.75 ½ toward the erection of the new house of worship. Persons from many denominations made contributions with ¾ of the subscribers of the total amount raised coming from Quakers. On May 28, 1829 the Church was consecrated by Bishop William White, the first Bishop of Pennsylvania and a founding father of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Originally, the congregation faced south, the opposite direction from today.

Paul was chosen as the patron saint for this new congregation. The decision seemed most fitting as Paul carried the Good News of God in Christ to the known world of his time. The Good News found a new home in West Whiteland.

In the 1840’s, there were many new strides, which brought growth and enrichment to St. Paul’s Church. The women of the Church contributed a great deal financially toward improvements and repairs. There has been constancy in this throughout St. Paul’s history. The church of the ante-bellum era, in rural Chester County, was first a place of worship, a place where baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals were held, but it was also a place of social gatherings for the wider community. St. Paul’s also has a rich tradition of concerns about social issues beyond the Parish. In the years preceding the Civil War parishioners struggled with their interpretations of the Christians virtues of obedience to authority, compassion for the less fortunate, and the dignity of all human beings. The Chester Valley had been in considerable turmoil over the issue of slavery for years before the war began, due to the very active Underground Railroad station at Exton. Parishioners were deeply involved in disobeying the Fugitive Slave law.

On October 1, 1871, the Vestry closed the church for major repairs. Nothing remains of the original building today but the walls and roof. The repairs completely changed the interior, adding a receding Chancel and robbing room at the north end, an organ gallery and expanding the seating to 250. A triplet window was placed in the north wall and a tower with an 85-foot spire was erected at the south side of the building. The church reopened in December 1872.

In the fall of 1912, the Parish Hall was erected and quickly became a community center, proving great value as a neighborhood house for gatherings. The year 1918 was an important year in the life of St. Paul’s, when the Church Farm School purchased land adjoining the church. That summer, under the leadership of the Reverend Dr. Charles Shreiner, thirty five boys from the Church of the Atonement, Philadelphia, together with a group of Girl Scouts who were housed in St. Paul’s Parish Hall, worked at the farm, raising food to help the food crisis of World War I. Meals were served in the basement of the Parish Hall. For many years, the students and parishioners worshiped together. Then in September 1963, the Church Farm School began worshiping in their own chapel on the school’s campus.

As the parish family increased in membership, the Lockwood-Reilly Building was erected just north of the Parish Hall in 1981. In 1984, St. Paul’s was placed on the National Historical Landmark Registry, in recognition of the historical significance of the church. The interior of the church underwent major renovations during the summer of 2002. The exterior was repaired and repainted at the same time. A new large cross now hangs in the Sanctuary, replacing the candle chandelier, which had been in place for several generations. In May 2004, the parish celebrated its 175th Anniversary.

Throughout many generations, St. Paul’s has been a community of faith that has served God’s Mission in Jesus Christ. We are grateful to past members, whose commitment was the founding of a place of worship and keeping it alive throughout our history. St. Paul’s is a testament to their dedication to their community, and their love of God. By the grace of God’s innumerable blessings, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are determined to continue Christ’s ministry of love within our Parish, our community, and the world.

We invite you to join us at St. Paul’s and experience the love of Christ in this Parish family and in loving service to the world in Jesus Christ’s name.