Morgan Chapel and Graveyard – also known as Christ Episcopal Church-Bunker Hill – is a historic church in Bunker Hill,

Berkeley County, West Virginia Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the eastern panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown–Martinsburg metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, t ...

. It is the oldest Episcopal church congregation in West Virginia. Morgan Chapel West Virginia rear view

In 1741

Morgan Morgan Colonel Morgan Morgan (November 1, 1688 — November 17, 1766) was an American pioneer. He was thought to have founded the first permanent settlement in present-day West Virginia at Cool Spring Farm. Biography Early life Little direct evidenc ...

, one of West Virginia's earliest settlers, built the original log church on this site, about halfway between his cabin and the mill. Soon a cemetery was established. The current

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

building was constructed in 1851.

I, II, III, and IV are all buried in the church cemetery, although the historic marker for Morgan Morgan is over a mile away near the town center and mill. Morgan Morgan's descendants later founded

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

. Also buried in the graveyard is noted American portrait artist John Drinker (1760–1826), a Quaker who may have been a conductor on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

along with his wife Elizabeth and whose former house is also on the National Register of Historic Places. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, both Union and Confederate troops encamped nearby and some in the chapel, as shown by recently uncovered graffiti. The diocese is currently seeking funds for further restoration. The closest local Episcopal parish is now Grace Episcopal Church in Middleway, West Virginia, several miles eastward on the Middleway Pike. Until recently, that parish had used this chapel for at least one worship service each year (in September); other denominations and special events occasionally used it until the restoration commenced. Morgan Chapel was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984,

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Churches in Berkeley County, West Virginia Episcopal churches in West Virginia Greek Revival church buildings in West Virginia Morgan family (West Virginia) National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley County, West Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Churches completed in 1851 Colonial architecture in West Virginia 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Anglican cemeteries in the United States

See also

References

External links