The Old Garbers Church

Harrisonburg, VA

Built in 1822.

Inspired Sunday

From the church's page:
"Garber's Church is the oldest continuously used Brethren meetinghouse in Virginia. It is estimated that the first services by the Brethren in the Dayton-Bridgewater area date back to around 1790. This was about the time that Rev. Daniel Garber and his brother-in-law, John Wampler, moved into the Dayton area. The Garber and Wampler families, along with other families, built up the Cooks Creek Congregation, a body of worshipping Brethren. They would worship in the homes of members located in the Dayton, Bridgewater, and Beaver Creek area. By 1822, the congregation grew so large that Garber's Church of the Brethren was built. In 1880, Cooks Creek Congregation had 300 members, mostly adults. Garber's is the "mother church" to other Brethren churches in the area. The known branches of the mother church in 1900 were: Garbers, Dayton, Bridgewater, Pleasant Run, Hinton Grove, Cedar Grove (Brandywine, WV), Smith Creek (WV) and North Fork (WV)."