by Geoff Fox & Kate Shunney
There has been a lot of history take place over the last 190 years in Hancock and around the world – a Civil War, two World Wars, two presidents assassinated, two floods that left Hancock underwater, the evolution of transportation, and man walking on the moon to name a few.
In that time though, two things in Hancock have remained steady – St. Thomas Episcopal Church and St. Peter’s Catholic Church.
Both churches were dedicated in 1835 and have looked over the highs and lows of Hancock and housed joyous and sorrowful moments of the town’s residents from their perch on High Street.
Saint Peter Catholic Church
In 1834, the corner stone for St. Peter Catholic Church was laid and the building of the church was underway with Rev. Timothy Ryan as the priest.
Before that, Mass was said in the homes of residents and with Irish immigrants working on the C&O Canal, the Catholic population in Hancock grew to 150 people.
The land located at 16 East High Street was purchased from Jonathan Rowland for $175.
The church itself was built by canal laborers at no cost for labor. Materials were provided by Philip P. Fitsgerald, the contractor for the canal. The Ryan, Baxter, Broidrick, McAvory, and Little families also helped as well. 
The older residents wanted to name the church St. Timothy for Fr. Timothy Ryan, however the Irish canal workers wanted St. Patrick.
It took the thinking of a priest to cast the final name. Ryan figured no would argue about naming the church after the first pope, so St. Peter was chosen and the church was dedicated in 1835.
The name St. Patrick was still used, as the Catholic church in Little Orleans carries the name. The church there was constructed and dedicated in 1860 after a Mass House had served the Catholic population there since 1807.
During the Civil War, two events shook Hancock and St. Peter’s Catholic Church.
On January 5, 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson shelled Hancock from Orrick’s Hill across the Potomac River in Morgan County, VA, (now WV).
Union troops were positioned on the ridge behind St. Peter and St. Thomas Episcopal Church at the time.
In 1864, soldiers under the command of Confederate General John McCausland, stole gold watch of a Catholic priest, possibly Rev. Michael Dausch, during the looting of the town when McCausland raided the town. A Catholic priest in Chambersburg also had a gold watch stolen during the same campaign.
In the time since St. Peter opened 190 years ago, there have been 47 priests serve the parish.
The current priest — Rev. Jack Lombardi — is the only priest to serve as pastor of the church twice. His first term was from June 1, 2009, to June 2021, and came back to the parish on January 1, 2023.
Lombardi’s 17 total years as pastor is second only to Rev. George W. Glick’s almost 20 years when he was pastor from July 14, 1980 until his death on May 15, 2000.
Lombardi said the biggest change to St. Peter’s was its renovation in the 1960s and 1970s.
The physical building itself and the bell tower are still the same as they were in 1835. Lombardi said it can be assumed the bell is still the same bell.
Up until about two years ago, the church still had what was believed to be the original wooden cross hanging above the altar. Lombardi said the wood on the cross beam began to rot and fell.
Lombardi said he came across it one morning after a spring rain.
“We have the pieces in the church, there, and now we have a metallic, golden surface cross we are thankful for and like,” he said.
There are still old to original sacred vessels like chalices at the church as well, but the altar and angels have been added more recently.
Lombardi said local church officials haven’t found any of the documents from the 1830s regarding the church.
The cemetery behind the church shares the land with St. Thomas, with a dividing line between the two churches’ cemetery.
Over 190 years, there have been thousands of baptisms, weddings, and funerals held at St. Peter.
Lombardi estimated the number of each over the course of a year.
They don’t have a lot of funerals, but there’s usually about 25 a year, which would be roughly 4,750 funerals in the church’s history, with two being recently celebrated within the last few weeks.
There have been 1,400 weddings in the church’s history.
Roughly 15 baptisms a year are the norm now.
St. Peter Catholic Church is on a 69,350 consecutive day streak of Mass being celebrated.
That means, since 1835, Mass has been celebrated every day at St. Peter Catholic Church. There have been weather issues that kept people from coming to Mass.
In 2025, the parish had three celebrations of the church’s 190th anniversary with a social outside the church, a dinner, and recently a concert.
Lombardi said there is a lady’s group that carries on the apple dumplings tradition as well as doing funeral luncheons and socials.
There’s also a men’s group, youth group, young adult group, evangelization and welcoming groups, and pro-life group at the church.
When looking back over the last 190 years of St. Peter Catholic Church, Lombardi said you have to look at the contrast of that time and all the politicians, dog catchers, top albums, movie stars, and priests and then look and what has remained at St. Peter in all that time is the church.
Lombardi said the church is in great shape for being almost two centuries old and people remark on how beautiful the church is, especially at Christmas.
What hasn’t changed in that time has been the Mass itself.
“You get different priests, preaching styles, music, but over those 200 years, 190 years, you have the same Mass, basically, which is our Lord Christ coming to us in the Eucharist,” Lombardi said. “Sunday to Sunday it’s the same, and that continuity is both marvelous and astounding.”
Lombardi said the current church and its members are standing on the shoulders of giants, the people who came before them – the builders, the physical people, and people who paid their money back in 1835 to place brick upon brick to build St. Peter Catholic Church.
“So we don’t want to take it for granted,” he said.
As St. Peter Catholic Church approaches its 200th year, there are changes that will come.
There is the possibility a portico could be added to both St. Peter and St. Patrick in Orleans for a welcoming space since neither church has such an area.
There’s also the desire to attract younger and older people to the church as well, as well as anyone else, and help them with the joys and sorrows of life.
“We’re very awed by nearly two centuries of beauty, service, spirituality here on the hill, and as was referenced, all the events that have happened come and go, and yet our Lord, God, the Blessed Trinity, is praised here. We’re so thankful that we have this privilege to both be here and attract others here for the future,” Lombardi said.
Christmas services
Anyone wishing to attend St. Peter for the Christmas season can choose from at 4 p.m. Family Mass on Wednesday, December 24 or an evening 11 p.m. Mass, which begins with carols at 10:30 p.m. A Christmas Day Mass is offered at 9 a.m.
For additional information about services or the church can visit the church’s website or call 301-678-6339.
Saint Thomas Episcopal Church
A little bit to the west of St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Saint Thomas Episcopal Church stands as a historical companion, serving its congregation through all of the same highs and lows of Hancock and world history. 
Dedicated in 1835, Saint Thomas’ church became the permanent home of a parish that had roots even earlier. Church records show that there were baptisms among Episcopalians around “Hancocktown” as early as 1797. Church officials say records of regular baptisms of those in the faith begin in 1829. At that time, the Reverend Leonard Johns, rector of Cumberland’s Emmanuel Church placed an agreement that he would conduct services in Hancock on alternating weeks with Cumberland.
Johns made his back-and-forth trips by horseback on the Old National Pike, today’s Old Route 40. In the document held by the church, Johns reports that he added Clear Spring to his rounds twice per month and despite that, “there is still a great deal of wickedness among many of these charges.”
In 1835, the Reverend John Delaplane of Frederick County was called to Saint Thomas as the first rector. Work had already started on the church building, with canal workers from Ireland and Germany lending their hands and talents to the building.
According to the church, today’s Saint Thomas appears to be a copy of the original Emmanuel Church in Cumberland, Rev. Johns’ home church. That church, also built above the town overlooking the Potomac River, was torn down in 1851 and replaced with a much larger and elaborate church. It makes sense that Thomas was the name given to Hancock’s church, as it means “twin” – the twin to its Cumberland predecessor.
Because of the church’s long history, it does attract attention for non-religious reasons.
“We do occasionally have visitors who come because of our history with the Civil War, or because they have family buried here from 100 years ago,” said Tracy Salvagno, Senior Warden at the church. “They’re more interested in it as a historical place than a place of worship.”
Perhaps of most interest to history buffs is that Saint Thomas served as a hospital for Union soldiers for 18 months during the Civil War.
“Women from the congregation and town nursed the wounded right in the Nave itself, and later, in the Rectory. Thus, Saint Thomas’ has a long and proud history of reaching out in Christ’s Name to all people, especially those in serious need or trouble,” the church history page says.
A parish hall was added to the church in 1932. It was built as a memorial to the father of the serving rector, Rev. J. Moulton Thomas.
Building on the church’s history of musical offerings, the thirteen-rank M.P. Moller Pipe Organ was rebuilt in 2005 and relocated to the church balcony – formerly the place where slaves would sit during services. 
Salvagno said the congregation of Saint Thomas is largely local folks, most of whom she’s known in the church her whole life. She said while the weekly congregation is not large, there are close to 150 people who would call Saint Thomas their church home, or the place they would turn for baptisms or marriages or pastoral needs.
Attendance for weekend services ranges from 35 to 40 people between the two services on Sundays.
Saint Thomas is currently conducting a search for a rector for the church. A long-time deacon leads the weekly services and around once each month a canon from the Diocese of Maryland comes to Hancock to give communion.
The Rev. Allan Weatherholt served Saint Thomas for many years and left a legacy of community service and faithful worship.
Some new residents to Hancock from more urban areas have joined Saint Thomas in recent times. Some previous parishioners have not been accepting of the stances of the Episcopal Church in recent years, especially as they touch on the church’s wide welcome to people of all backgrounds and lifestyles.
Salvagno said that’s been a sad reality. While some have embraced the church’s open welcome, others haven’t.
“We would love to have them come back, but not at the expense of anyone else who might come,” she said. “People come here to worship not to make a political statement.”
Several factors have made the size of Saint Thomas’s congregation fluctuate, from the fact that more people work on Sundays than in previous times, kids’ sports events on Sundays and people moving away and having smaller families.
Despite those changes, Salvagno said today’s church family at Saint Thomas is welcoming, dedicated and involved in the Hancock community in many ways that support charitable efforts.
A men’s and a women’s bible study group weekly are attracting attendees consistently, she said.
“I do think that fact that we are open and welcoming to everyone regardless of your background is one of the best things about Saint Thomas,” said Salvagno. “Most of our congregation is older but they truly in their hearts embrace it.”
Until a new rector is selected and oriented in Hancock, Saint Thomas isn’t looking at any new initiatives or outreach programs, as those generally will align with the rector’s vision and priorities.
In the meantime, Saint Thomas continues to be a place where families worship, where individuals seek solace and understanding at every major event in their lives.
Its historical features, including distinctive stained glass windows, are rich and varied. Its physical presence has been witness to much change. It is reported that one of the windows is a Tiffany creation, of the famed decorative glassmaker. 
Church records dating back to the 1830s are held at Saint Thomas, and Salvagno said they are rich with details about life in Hancock and the people living in different eras. For example, some of records of the original vestry, the founders of the church, show that there were slaveholders among the founders, and that several slaves attended the church and were married there.
“It’s incredible that something can stand for so much time and see so much history,” Salvagno said of the 190-year-old church. “We’ve gone through very distinctive periods and we’re still here.”
Christmas services
Anyone wishing to attend Saint Thomas for the Christmas season can choose between two services on Wednesday, December 24. There is a family service at 5 p.m. and a service with seasonal music at 7 p.m. It will include a half hour prelude of music that begins at 6:30 p.m.
For additional information about services or the church can visit the church’s website or call 301-678-6569.
