Marple Township did not have a church building for its first 150 years. Early settlers were Quakers, who could journey to Springfield Friends Meeting, right over the Marple border, a relatively short commute by horse and wagon, or Newtown Square Meeting, also relatively close. Church of England worshippers found their way to St. David Church near Radnor. Church attendance in those early years was one of the principal forms of socializing and entertainment in the sparsely settled farm community, and so a long wagon or carriage ride on Sunday morning would have been a highly anticipated event, well worth the travel time.
When Scotch-Irish settlers began arriving, they brought their religion, Presbyterianism. The 1720 Middletown Presbyterian Church in Lima was their nearest option. Tired of that ride, in all kinds of weather, Marple farmer John Cragi offered up land at a convenient corner intersection, while Howell Jones agreed to provide building stone from his farm along Darby Creek. In August of 1834, the 
cornerstone was laid for Marple Presbyterian Church. Volunteers constructed the first small church, which opened its doors in May 1835. The original building had a 50×42 feet interior with box pews, which were rented to parishioners for $15/year. Ten pews were rented in the first year, with the new minister paid $150.
The first mention of the church in newspapers concerned the meeting of the Delaware County Temperance Society and its call for the friends of the Temperance Cause to meet at the church on August 5, 1841 “for the purpose of devising and adopting some means of inducing the Legislature of this State to exert its lawful and appropriate influence in diminishing and mitigating the miseries entailed upon Society by the Vending and Drinking of Intoxicating Liquors.”
By 1870, the church had 70 members, in a township of only 858. The following year, a young doctor fresh from Civil War service and then medical school, Dr. John G. Thomas, put down roots in the community and joined the church. He volunteered as superintendent of the Sunday School, serving for 50 years, and also served as treasurer for 51 years. Dr. Thomas died in 1939 at age 95 and is buried in the front row of the church cemetery along Sproul Road.
The church expanded as it grew, adding a vestibule in 1867, various additions over the years, and constructing a new modern church dedicated on September 27, 1953, with three of the six then-living former ministers in attendance, and greetings sent by the others. The Church continues as a vital member of the community, offering Sunday services, Sunday School, youth groups, choir, a thrift shop and its annual Strawberry Festival in June.
For more on the history of Marple, visit the Marple Historical Society website and Facebook page, and join the Society to keep up to date on coming events: www.MarpleHistoricalSociety.org