The Old Chapel Church, also known locally as the "Snow Creek Chapel", was built in 1769 as a chapel of ease for the Church of England parish in what is today Penhook, Virginia, United States.
The Old Chapel Church, also known locally as the "Snow Creek Chapel", was built in 1769 as a chapel of ease for the Church of England parish in what is today Penhook, Virginia, United States.
The chapel was 32 ft × 24 ft (10 m × 7.5 m), a frame house with clapboard roof, a plank floor, with pulpit and desk. There would be a pitch of 12' to the roof. There were to be two doors and five windows, with a small table and benches. [1]
A typical chapel in Colonial Virginia was built as a frame church, and the Old Chapel Church has post and beam construction. [2] Over one hundred frame churches similar to this existed in Virginia before the American Revolution: now only four are still standing. [3] One of these frame churches is St. John's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia), where Patrick Henry gave his famous Give me liberty, or give me death! speech.
"Certain elements that he found confirmed the church's historic significance. The church had a chancel door, an exit located near the communion table, which is typical of 17th and 18th century Anglican churches, Lounsbury [4] said." [5]
"The ancient roadbed @ the SW corner of the lot is believed to be a remnant of the Pigg River Road. This road and several others provided a major East – West route through Franklin County, Virginia, and the Old Chapel became a familiar landmark along the road. The last member of Old Chapel Church, Mrs. Virginal Kelley, passed in 2009 at the age of 95." [6]
In 2017, the Old Chapel Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has also deemed the church a "Virginia Treasure," a designation for ecological, cultural, scenic and recreational assets. [7]
The chapel was also known as "the King's House" at the time of the American Revolution. This was in part because the land and church were owned by the King of England as head of the church, and also this is where local taxes were paid to the crown, usually in tobacco. A tradition exists that this was also an area where gunpowder and arms were stored by the British. [8] [9]
The early church was formed for the Antrim Parish, which later became the Camden Parish as the counties of Franklin, Pittsylvania, Patrick and Henry were formed from Halifax County.
Camden Parish was formed from Antrim Parish when Pittsylvania County was established in 1767 with 938 white and 316 slave tithables. A tithe paying person was every white or black male (unless a woman had her own business) in the parish, who was required by law to support the local established church. [10]
The early priests were: the Reverend Foulis, who resigned in 1759. The Reverend Alex Gordon was next, and then replaced by the Reverend James Stevenson of Williamsburg, Virginia, who took an absence of three months to go to London to be ordained. In March 1771, the Reverend Lewis Gwilliam became the minister of Camden Parish. Although appointed to the Pittsyvania County Committees of safety (American Revolution), he was suspected of Tory loyalties. Gwilliam was paid a salary by the parish through 1779, but in 1776 there were several requests not to pay his salary. Also suspected of disloyalty to the revolution were John Pigg and Samuel Calland (of whom Callands, Virginia was named).
There were some prominent members of the congregation. John Pigg, for whom the Pigg River was named, was a member of the church congregation. So was Colonel William Witcher, a militia officer who led county troops in the Cherokee Expedition in 1776 and 1777, as well as local troops at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. John Donelson, father in law to President Andrew Jackson, was also a member of the congregation. [11]
Hugh Innes was a judge and represented the county first in the House of Burgesses (1769-1774), the first revolutionary convention (1774), and then in the House of Delegates (1783). [12]
"Once an Anglican church in the Antrim Parish of Halifax County, Virginia Old Chapel Church was later by Primitive Baptists until 2009." [13]
Today the church land and building are privately owned.
Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 60,501. The county seat is Chatham.
Franklin County is a county located in the Blue Ridge foothills of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,477. Its county seat is Rocky Mount. Franklin County is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located in the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The Roanoke River forms its northeast boundary with Bedford County.
Penhook is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The population was 801 at the 2010 census, up from 726 in 2000. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Rocky Mount is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The town is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, and had a population of 4,903 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the Roanoke Region of Virginia.
Smith Mountain Lake is a large reservoir in the Roanoke Region of Virginia, United States, located southeast of the City of Roanoke and southwest of Lynchburg. The lake was created in 1963 by the Smith Mountain Dam impounding the Roanoke River. The majority of the south shore of the lake lies in Franklin County while a small portion, including access to the dam, lies in Pittsylvania County. Bedford County makes up the northern half of the lake with the Roanoke River as the dividing line. The lake has become a popular recreation spot and has also experienced significant development in the last decade. It is the largest lake contained entirely within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
St. John's Church is an Episcopal church located at 2401 East Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Formed from several earlier parishes, St. John's is the oldest church in the city of Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1741 by William Randolph's son, Colonel Richard Randolph; the Church Hill district was named for it. It was the site of two important conventions in the period leading to the American Revolutionary War, and is famous as the location where American Founding Father Patrick Henry gave his memorable speech at the Second Virginia Convention, closing with the often-quoted demand, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" The church is designated as a National Historic Landmark.
The Pigg River is a river in south-west Virginia in the United States. It is a tributary of the Roanoke River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean via Albemarle Sound.
The Great Wagon Road is a historic trail in the eastern United States that was first traveled by indigenous tribes, and later explorers, settlers, soldiers, and travelers. It extended from British Pennsylvania to North Carolina, through the Great Appalachian Valley, and from there to Georgia.
State Route 41 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Franklin Turnpike, the state highway runs 22.5 miles (36.2 km) from SR 360 northeast of Danville to SR 57 in Callands. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officially designates the route north of U.S. Route 29 Business in Danville as a part of SR 41 but the Franklin Turnpike south and east of this point is signed as SR 41.
State Route 57 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 88.70 miles (142.75 km) from SR 8 near Woolwine east to SR 360 near Halifax. SR 57 connects the independent city of Martinsville with Chatham and Halifax, the county seats of Pittsylvania and Halifax counties, respectively. The state highway also connects the city to Fairy Stone State Park.
Matthew Clay was a Virginia lawyer, planter, Continental Army officer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives and the Virginia House of Delegates representing Pittsylvania County.
Virginia's sixth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers much of the west-central portion of the state, including Roanoke and most of the Shenandoah Valley. The current representative is Ben Cline (R), who has held the seat since the 2019 retirement of incumbent Republican Bob Goodlatte.
Walter Coles was a Virginia planter, military officer and Democratic politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bowie, Maryland is a Catholic church established in 1729. The church was originally built on part of the Jesuit plantation known as White Marsh Manor.
Callands is an unincorporated community in Pittsylvania County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named after Samuel Calland, a native of Scotland that immigrated during the 18th century, whose general store became a popular fixture of the community. The area around the store served as the county seat of Pittsylvania County until the end of 1776.
The Carolina Road or the "Old Carolina Road" are names for various sections of the Great Wagon Road and other routes in colonial America. "The 'Old Carolina Road', extending from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the Yadkin Valley, was one of the most heavily traveled roads in eighteenth century America." Parts of the 180-mile-long (290 km) Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area scenic byway follow the Old Carolina Road through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
Samuel Calland was born in Scotland, but became an influential landowner and merchant in Colonial Virginia. The town of Callands, Virginia, is named for him.
The Reverend Richard R. Jones was a noted African-American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and orator in Roanoke, Virginia.
Hugh Innes was an American patriot, attorney, real estate investor and politician who represented Pittsylvania County, Virginia in the House of Burgesses and first Virginia Revolutionary Convention, but whose home was located in Henry County by 1783 and helped secure the creation of Franklin County.