Lancaster’s Saint James Episcopal Church was founded in 1744 by the Reverend Richard Locke who was given 20 pounds from King George II of England to help finance his transportation to the New World as a missionary. While traveling through Lancaster, Locke gathered the members of the Church of England together and established the congregation on land donated by James Hamilton, also known as the “Father of Lancaster.” George Ross, signer of the Declaration of Independence also was a member.
Today, the brick church building, which was built in 1820, is a beautiful fixture of the Lancaster skyline. Its picturesque, tree-lined churchyard is dappled with sunlight and trimmed with colonial-era tombstones.