The History of St. Paul’s
St. Paul’s traces its roots to December 10, 1867, when the Pittsburgh Synod of the Reformed Church dedicated St. Paul Homes in Butler, Pennsylvania, as a home for destitute orphaned children. Through the continued support of Reformed Church congregations throughout Western Pennsylvania, new facilities were constructed, and on February 24, 1909, the Home was relocated to Greenville, Pennsylvania. It was in Greenville that St. Paul’s mission expanded in 1927 to include health care services for the aging.
As senior care needs grew, two houses on Eagle Street were purchased to expand services. On September 7, 1946, the Greenville facilities were moved from the center of town to a new location adjacent to the Children’s Home on the former 46-acre estate of Senator Frank Fay, acquired through church contributions.
In 1939, the merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Churches brought the Dorseyville Home for the Aged into the Synod. The administrations of Dorseyville and St. Paul Homes were unified under a single corporate structure in 1955. By 1971, the Children’s Home was closed, allowing St. Paul’s to focus entirely on caring for older adults. In 1974, the Dorseyville unit also closed, and its remaining residents were transferred to the newly expanded St. Paul Homes Health Center.
Entering the 2000s, St. Paul’s continued to grow into a comprehensive continuing care community. Today, St. Paul’s encompasses 622 acres of rolling farmland less than one mile from the Borough of Greenville. The campus offers a wide range of living and care options to meet residents’ changing needs.
The Colony, established in the 1970s, provides independent living in a scenic countryside neighborhood featuring private homes and apartments.
The Ridgewood, built in 1995, offers personal care in a welcoming residential setting focused on comfort and peace of mind. The Villas, a state-of-the-art skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, opened in April 2005 and provides 24-hour care in a supportive, close-knit environment.
The Heritage opened in July 2006 and offers personal care in a vibrant community setting. In 2012, St. Paul’s extended its mission beyond campus boundaries with the launch of St. Paul’s Home-Based Services, providing care to clients in the place they call home while also supporting residents across campus.
In 2015, The Heritage expanded with Jones Serenity Circle, a secured special-care neighborhood serving 24 individuals living with dementia. That same year, The Meadows neighborhood within The Villas transitioned to a short-stay unit, providing rehabilitation and nursing care for 24 residents as they prepare to return home. In response to growing demand for specialized care for individuals with dementia and other neurological diseases, the secured neighborhood expanded again in 2018 with the addition of Jones Serenity Lane.
Rooted in the Judeo-Christian faith and historically connected to the United Church of Christ, St. Paul’s continues to create a sense of belonging and purpose by providing compassionate, person-centered care in a nurturing environment—a place residents proudly call home.