Five fun facts about the Archives

The Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives / Archives of Messiah College has well over a million documents, more than 75,000 photographs, nearly one thousand artifacts, and several thousand books and bound periodicals.

A few of the unique items in the Archives:

The oldest objects in the Archives (more than 450 years old) are two rare "Froschauer" German Bibles, printed in 1531 and 1536. One of the Bibles was owned by three generations of Brethren in Christ church leaders, all bishops in Lancaster County.

A set of three wooden church benches. The front bench is designed so the back flips over (allowing persons to face backward), while the back of the middle bench can be raised to form a table for love feast meals.

Photos and artifacts from the S. R. Smith noodle factory, moved from Harrisburg to Grantham in 1909. In addition to operating a successful manufacturing plant, Smith was the first president of Messiah College.

A $10 bill issued by the Grantham National Bank. To handle the business of the noodle factory and other enterprises in Grantham, Smith and others chartered the Grantham National Bank, which had its own currency (printed by the government in Washington, D.C.).

Diaries of H. Frances Davidson, pioneering missionary to Africa. In 1897 she left a teaching position at McPherson College to join four others as the first missionaries sponsored by the Brethren in Christ Church. In 1906 she and Adda Engle left Matopo Mission in what is now Zimbabwe to open a new mission station at Macha, in what is now Zambia.