BROOKVILLE, Pa. — The public is invited to a screening of a TV documentary about Scripture Rocks on February 21.

Last year, the Jefferson County History Center contracted Reynoldsville native Edward Forest Frank write to produce the Story of Douglas Stahlman and the Scripture Rocks under a special grant provided by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.

Frank is a cinematographer, writer, and producer who creates documentaries about natural history and human history.

Scripture Rocks, located just outside Brookville on Route 28, was created by Douglas M. Stahlman. Stahlman carved the rocks in the early 1900s after living a life of faith and scandal. He was born in Jefferson County and moved around the country. He got involved with the teachings of John Alexander Dowie, a faith healer, and evangelist. Since Dowie was a faith healer, when Stahlman’s wife got sick, he ended the care she had been receiving and attempted to heal her through faith. She later died, and Stahlman was arrested for her death. After the arrest, his children were taken away from him.

Leaving prison, Stahlman came back to Brookville and became an evangelist. When that ended, he became a hermit living on Altar Rock, writing his books and carving the stones. He was committed to a mental institution in 1915 and died there in 1942.

This will be the first public viewing of the completed program that will be marketed to TV later in the year.

The program follows a short business meeting of the North Fork Chapter 29 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology and begins at 7:00 pm on Friday, February 21st at the Presbyterian Church Education Building located at the corner of Main and White Street in Brookville.

The program is free and the public is invited.