Brush Creek Salem Church possesses distinctive architecture among churches constructed in western Pennsylvania before 1850. It is the only known example of a brick church with Georgian ornamentation built in western Pennsylvania before the mid-nineteenth century.
Brush Creek Salem Church also contains a floor plan and highly detailed woodwork rarely found in pre-1850 churches in Western Pennsylvania. The nominated church's exterior stands out among brick churches erected before 1850 in the western part of the state. Brick churches were first built in western Pennsylvania shortly after 1800. The Brush Creek Salem's Church, constructed between 1816 and 1820, was one of the first brick churches built in Westmoreland County.
Only Brush Creek Salem Church features exterior Georgian ornamentation, particularly in the richly detailed entranceways. It also has an unusual floor plan. Most churches constructed before 1850 in western Pennsylvania are one-story buildings with a center door. Brush Creek Salem Church, on the other hand, has two floors. Including a second-floor gallery accounts for the unusual distance between the first- and second-story windows.
Jacob Dry, the German builder of this church, used gouges and other simple tools to execute delicate details, particularly in the balcony front and supporting beams and columns. The Salem Creek Church was first organized in 1773 by German Reformed and Lutheran congregants. The two groups built a log meetinghouse in 1797.
The cornerstone of the nominated church was laid in 1816. The Lutheran group separated from the Brush Creek Salem Church in 1836 and built another church. The German Reformed Church (now part of the United Church of Christ) has occupied the building ever since. In 1958, the German Reformed congregation constructed the one-story building, the only significant addition made to the original brick building in its 167-year history.
