Augusta Stone Church is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

( PCUSA) place of worship located in

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

in the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, USA in the unincorporated community of Fort Defiance. The church was one of two meeting houses established by The Congregation of the Triple Forks of the Shenandoah in the year 1740.ASC History
Augusta Stone and the sister meeting house Tinkling Spring were both served by the Rev. John Craig. The final structure which was completed in 1749 is still in use and holds the distinction of being the oldest Presbyterian Church in continuous use in Virginia. an
''Accompanying photo''

History

The congregation was founded in 1740 by the Rev. John Craig, and a log meeting house was constructed 1/4-mile from the present stone church. The stone church was intended to serve as both a meeting house and a fort against

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

raids; construction began in 1747 and the building was dedicated on Sunday, January 22, 1749. An old tale says there is a "secret passageway" in the minister's office that was meant for a time of war. However, no member of the church has seen the alleged secret passageway, and there are no references to it in church records. In the early 1800s, the small community near the church became known as Fort Defiance. The stone church has been in continuous use since 1749, making it the oldest Presbyterian house of worship in continuous use in Virginia. Two major additions were added to the rear of the church. The transepts in the sanctuary and a wing of rooms and offices (designed by

T.J. Collins Thomas Jasper Collins (August 2, 1844 - October 6, 1925), commonly known as T. J. Collins, was an American architect. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later became an architect, practicing first in Washington, D.C., bef ...

) were added in 1921-22, and a large social hall (called "John Craig Hall") and kitchen were completed in 1956. The church has a museum on the property, in the old Session House (to the right of the main building in the photo), containing artifacts from the church's early history. The two cemeteries at the church contain the graves of Revolutionary and Civil War veterans. The museum houses the baptismal records of the Rev. John Craig from 1740 to 1749.Genealogy

Location

Augusta Stone Church is located on

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

(also known as the

Lee Highway The Lee Highway was a United States auto trail initially connecting from an eastern zero mile marker on the Ellipse in Washington DC to a western zero marker, the Pacific Milestone, in the center of San Diego, California — via the Ame ...

) adjacent to Fort Defiance High, Clymore Elementary, and Stuart Gordon Middle schools in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

, eight miles north of Staunton and 15 miles south of Harrisonburg in the small, unincorporated community of Fort Defiance,

References

External links

Augusta Stone Church Web Site
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Churches completed in 1749 Churches in Augusta County, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Presbyterian churches in Virginia Religious organizations established in 1740 Stone churches in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Augusta County, Virginia 18th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States 1749 establishments in the Colony of Virginia

History

Location

See also

References

External links