Four years passed before work was begun on the building. The congregation elected as builder, mason and architect William Heyser/Wilhelm Heiser, a member and deacon of the congregation, who, with the cooperation of his colleagues, the other deacons of the congregation, namely, Philip Oster, Peter Wagner, and Jacob Hauser, brought the work so far as to lay the cornerstone on Wednesday, August 10, 1774. Built by Germans upon solid rock, this stone church, though enlarged and altered, has endured for more than two centuries. The interior of the building stood unfinished for some years while the building-master, Capt. Heyser, organized a company of German volunteers and led them to support General George Washington. Wounded at the Battle of Brandywine, Capt. Heyser returned home to recuperate and, in time, to complete the church building. Zion Reformed Church's limestone walls have witnessed uninterrupted congregational worship since 1774. From the foundation, which was built upon a rock, to the bell tower pointing skyward, the church was erected by its founders as a symbol of religious freedom in their new homeland. The church was the first large building in the town and its commanding presence on a hilltop overlooking the town of 50,000 today is the same building which stood watch over the town in its infancy as a small hamlet of a few hundred houses. While the property has been improved and enlarged, within and without, the sanctuary maintains the original 1774 proportions and the original limestone masonry walls. Unable to locate the original deed from Captain Hager, the church leadership sought legal title to the land on which this church stands. In 1784, the land was purchased from the estate of the founder of Hagerstown, Captain Jonathan Hager, for a nominal fee but subject to an annual ground rent of one shilling and sixpence sterling paid faithfully by the congregation each March 1 for seventy-five years. Burial space adjoining the church was provided for early members of the congregation. Members of many families, whose ancestors are buried here, made substantial contributions to an endowment fund, the income from which is to be used for the care and upkeep of the graveyard. Other members made yearly contributions to be used for the same purpose. The oldest burial is that of Peter Rench, who died in 1771. By 1900 no more lots were available; the last burial in a family lot was in 1991. In 1997, the congregation established a memorial garden for cremated remains of members.