St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Exton, Pennsylvania)

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Exton, also known as St. Paul's Church, is a historic church at 1105 E. Lincoln Highway in Exton, Pennsylvania in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in the area known as the Great Valley. It was built in 1828 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as St. Paul's Church. It is one of the 155 parish churches of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.HistoryFounded in 1828, St. Paul’s is the second oldest religious congregation in West Whiteland Township in continual existence, following Grove Methodist Church. It was built along the Lancaster Pike, the first turnpike in the United States, and a major route to the west from Philadelphia. The church is historically linked to St. David’s at Radnor, St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley and Christ Church, of Greenville, Delaware from the time when Episcopal churches in the area shared rectors.The cornerstone laying ceremony in 1828 was of statewide significance, with John Andrew Shulze, the Governor of Pennsylvania, attending, as well as Bishop William White, Presiding Bishop of Pennsylvania, and of the Episcopal Church in the United States, and the Rev. Brinckle, rector of both St. Peter’s and St. David’s. The Great Valley was predominately Quaker in 1828, and about 75% of the founding members were of Quaker heritage. They may have changed religious membership because their participation in the United States military during or after the American Revolution violated Quaker pacifist beliefs. Or they may left their Quaker roots because of the Separation of 1828 between Quaker Hicksite and Orthodox branches.