The Mennonite Meetinghouse and cemetery on Wise Road in Harmony has been recommended to be placed in the National Registry of Historic Places. The building dates back to the early 1800s and was used as a place of worship.

HARMONY — A piece of borough history may be recognized nationally soon.

The Mennonite Meetinghouse and cemetery at 114 Wise Road was recommended for the National Register of Historic Places Tuesday by the state Historic Preservation Board.

The board is part of the state Historical and Museum Commission.

“We’ve been working on this since 2012,” Historic Harmony President John Ruch said. “There’s a lot of history there.”

The meetinghouse was a place of worship for the Mennonites who settled in the early 1800s, and it could seat about 200 people.

Men and women sat on opposite sides of the room.

The Mennonites were the “second founders” of the area after members of the Harmonist Society, who originally settled there, moved on.

The cemetery was built in 1815, shortly after the Mennonites settled.

The meeting building was constructed in 1825. An addition was built five years later for a kitchen and cloak room.

“It’s the first Mennonite church west of the Alleghenies,” Ruch said.

Worship services ceased in 1902 after attendance decreased.

The site is now adjacent to the David Ziegler Farmstead.

It is not known when the site will be officially listed in the registry. However, Ruch said it will be sometime this year.

“I think it’s going to raise visibility,” he said.

The announcement came to the delight of borough council members.

“Congratulations,” said council President Greg Such. “It’s very nice you saved something so old.”