LANSFORD, Pa. -- A historical society is looking to bring an old church back to life in Carbon County.
The outside of Welsh Congregational Church has been boarded up for a while in Carbon County. Historians say this is no ordinary church. Back in the mid-1800s, this was a thriving church in the Ashton section of Lansford.
Local historian Bruce Markovich wants to resurrect this one-room church.
"This is the beginnings of all churches here in the valley, and like all churches, they are on the decline right now, but this is the beginning most churches sprung from here," Markovich said.
The church was dedicated on the day after Christmas in 1850 and had services up until the early 1900s.
Markovich, a historian with the Lansford Historical Society, says this is the oldest church in Carbon County. In fact, when it was built, officials say it was made with wooden pegs because nails were too expensive.
"Nails were very expensive. They opted to use wooden pegs even in the window frames. Everything was just pegged together."
Inside the church were prayer books as well as old bibles dating back to the 1800s, their pages tattered by time.
There have been attempts to fix up the church but a fire in 2002 set everything back. The historical society is now looking for donations to make a more permanent fix.
"I think this is a good thing because it would bring someone back to the town more often," said Lansford resident Agnes Lazar.
Officials with the historical society hope renovations can be completed by Christmas of 2020.