Friends of Tonoloway Primitive Baptist Church, the oldest church in Fulton County, Pa., announces the recent publication of “Tonoloway – If Its Walls Could Talk,” a documentation of Civil War-era graffiti from the time of the church’s use as a Union hospital in 1862 when Confederate troops threatened to cross the Potomac River into Maryland at nearby Hancock.
 

Written by Friends board member John Mentzer, the 140-page, 11-X 8-1/2-inch book takes a look at the lives of the 13 identified Union troops who signed Tonoloway’s walls and their regiments and of 13 civilians whose names also appear on the church’s walls.  Eleven other signatures are included with probable identification as are 10 unidentified writings. The book contains an account of Tonoloway’s history, it prominent role in the American Revolution and its recent restoration.  It contains 90 photographs, including photos of the signatures and some of the Union soldiers who were at Hancock.

To purchase a copy, contact board member Marlin Douglas, 215 Meadow Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17201, telephone 717-263-9860 or e-mail dougmar@yellowbananas.com.  Price is $25 plus $3 shipping and handling.