Mt. Zion Church in St. Louis, VA

Loudoun County, VA

This Baptist Church was established in 1885. It is in the village of St. Louis, which was established by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. 

The parking lot is across the road. The church has a blessing box next to it labeled Free Food Pantry. 

Friedens Church in Mount Crawford

Friedens Church was organized in the mid-1700s. The older section of the current church dates to the early 1800s.

There are Revolutionary War soldiers buried in the cemetery, but I did not locate them.

The church is located on Friedens Church Road east of Mount Crawford, not far from Interstate 81.

Fallen Angel

 Friedens Church Cemetery 

Salvation Army Chapel

 Cloud Street, Front Royal

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

It’s Vernal Equinox Day

...Better known as the first day of Spring!

Flowers are definitely starting to bloom. The first scene is in Winchester and the rest are near Front Royal.

 

That sky deserves another picture.

The view is from Bennett’s Chapel.

I didn’t take a picture of the church this time because the parking lot was full. I’ve posted pictures of it before. As you can see, I took them from almost the same spot in the parking area.

Lutheran Church between New Market and Forestville

Mount Zion is a common name for churches around here. This one is a Lutheran church on Ridge Road northwest of New Market. It had its roots in 1853, and early services were held in a school house. The present church was completed in 1872, with the bell tower added in 1918.

There is a blessing box on the grounds, which is fairly common at churches in our region. You can leave non-perishable food there for people to pick up if they need it.

The stone wall looks like it could have been a foundation at one time, or perhaps it is just part of the cemetery.

The First Integrated Church in the County

New Market, VA

Manor Memorial Methodist Church was integrated in 1965. I was surprised to see a marker about this story that was erected by Shenandoah Valley Battlefields organization because they usually stick closely to Civil War history. It turns out that this church was in existence during the Civil War and was probably used as a hospital, like every public building and many homes. The valley saw many battles in 1862 and 1864, and a significant battle raged through the town of New Market.

I’ve submitted the sign and complete text to the Historical Marker Database and it should be available there in a few days. There’s a QR code on the sign for an audio description and here are some excerpts, transcribed by software.

The Methodist congregation in New Market built their first church, a log building, on Lee Street around 1831. In 1857, they purchased this lot to build their new church, completing the original wooden part of the structure in 1861, the first year of the Civil War. That original structure stood here during the Battle of New Market on May 15, 1864. While there is no known account of the church during the battle, it no doubt experienced the same trauma as other buildings: Artillery shells exploding around it with thunderous ear-shattering concussions, and musketballs rattling off the walls.

After the war, an African-American Methodist congregation was formed in New Market by African-American ministers who visited the area to serve recently freed slaves and local black communities. In 1873 the congregation opened Asbury Methodist Church on Cadet Road.

The African-American population in New Market declined in numbers over the years and by 1965 the congregation of Asbury Methodist was too small to remain in operation. Historically black Cavalry Methodist Church in Mount Jackson faced the same challenges so in that year, both churches merged with Manor Memorial Church here.

Mt. Zion in Strasburg

Yesterday’s post mentioned several old cemeteries in Shenandoah County.  Since I was in Strasburg today, I went by the Mount Zion Methodist Church to take a picture of the old African-American cemetery.

Interestingly, the church building dates back to 1869 but it was not on this site. According to Shenandoah Stories, the original building was dismantled and moved to the present site, where it has been improved over the years.

Snowy Search for Linkup Photos

Do you give yourself photography assignments? I've been blogging for over 19 years, and I find myself looking for particular subjects when I'm out running errands, or sometimes even just for a reason to go somewhere. Of course, it doesn't always work out, especially if the weather interferes.

After being pretty much snowed-in last Monday, I drove to Harrisonburg on Tuesday with the idea of doing some grocery shopping and taking some pictures. I headed for the library downtown because I had read there was a new mural there. Unfortunately, the library was closed due to the weather. One thing to understand about living in a mountain/valley region is that the roads might be clear in town, but workers who live in the nearby hills can’t get there because the roads are icy or still covered in snow. (Oh, the confusion this causes to parents of school-age children! “Why are the schools still closed? My street is fine.”)

I took a picture of Asbury Church across the street, and also a street scene. There were no pedestrians to be seen.

Not far away, I spotted a new mural on Liberty Street. I parked the car and walked to the side of the building to take pictures. 

It wasn’t until I enlarged this picture today that I saw that there was a reflection on the window. That must be a plastic storm window because the reflected dumpster is distorted.

The mural continues along the front of the building. 

As I composed this post, I searched for the name of the artist and found it is Tyler Kauffman, who completed this last month. He also painted other murals that I’ve shared: a bicycle scene and Space Cowboy. 

Linking to Refections / Shadow Shot / Murals

Small Food Pantries

Strasburg, VA

This building is associated with St. Paul Lutheran Church. I stopped there this afternoon to leave a few items in the Blessing Box, which is now located on the porch. There’s also a cabinet of reading materials, including Bibles.

The church is across Washington Street from the white building. It looked very fine in the golden sunlight.

I’ve made it a point to mention the location of various blessing boxes on this blog so that if someone is searching for free food in one of the towns here, they can at least find one of these cupboards with soup and beans, plus hopefully something more interesting to eat. There are a variety of food distribution sites in our valley, but many just operate on certain days and times. Often these are associated with a church. 

Here are some of the blessing boxes that I have shown in the past.

Mosaic Linkup

Little Fork Church

Culpeper County, VA

 The first church on this site was built of wood and burned in 1773. It was rebuilt of brick in 1776. This is one of the few colonial era churches that still stands in Virginia’s northern piedmont.

Window with Reflections

The nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places describes the exterior as follows:

"Little Fork Church is a one-story brick structure which measures approximately 83\' x 33\'. Its walls are laid in Flemish bond with random glazed headers above and below the water table. Unfortunately most of the brick below the water table as well as the brick gutter have been covered by cement. Rubbed brick marks the four corners of the building as well as the window jambs, principal window arches, and original door jambs. The long south wall of the church is divided into seven-bays containing six semi-circular arched windows and a central door. This door, as well as the west door, has been altered but probably both originally featured brick pediments. The west facade has two small rectangular windows placed high on the wall as if to be gallery windows although it is not certain that the church ever had a gallery. The whole of the building is surrounded by a modillion cornice (probably the original) and is crowned by a hipped roof."

A tall monument in the churchyard was erected in 1904 in memory of the Little Fork Rangers, a local Confederate Cavalry Company that drilled here early in the Civil War.

Mosaic Monday

A Civil War trails marker tells how the “peaceful parish became an entrenched camp.”

"In the spring of 1861, the Little Fork Rangers (Co. D, 4th Virginia Cavalry), mustered in the yard of Little Fork Episcopal Church. On July 4, the Rangers were presented with a battle flag as they left Rixeyville for the First Battle of Manassas. Capt. Robert E. Utterback called on them to follow the flag "into the face of the enemy, defending it with the last drop of your blood!" Utterback's call proved all too prophetic as the Rangers served under Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and other commanders from Manassas, to Gettysburg, to Appomattox Court House."

Read the rest of this marker on HMDB. 

Shrine Mont and Edmund Lee Woodward

The outdoor cathedral at Shrine Mont is a special place. This is in the mountain town of Orkney Springs, a short distance from Bryce Resort. 

Plaque at Shrine Mont Honors the Woodwards

Recently, I learned of a connection between this stone shrine and the church in The Plains where I enjoy an annual art show. Upstairs at the church was a small collection of prints, including some of Shrine Mont. A booklet explained that collection was handed down from Rev. Dr. Edmond Lee Woodward, who spearheaded the construction of Grace Church of The Plains in 1918. After he served as rector of Grace Church, he went on to create Shrine Mont in Shenandoah County. 

Although both churches are built of locally dug stone, Grace Church was designed in 13th century English Gothic style, and Shrine Mont’s cathedral is so rustic it almost appears to have sprung out of the mountain. 

Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains

I was rather startled by the connection because these churches are over 70 miles apart, and it would’ve been quite a journey 100 years ago. Today I read that Rev. Woodward’s wife, Frances Gibson, was the daughter of the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia, who owned a cottage in Orkney Springs and held services in the town. The Shrine is still owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

It’s an almost magical place, a peaceful setting among the trees.

Making Bread Outdoors

Fort Valley, VA

B&W / Theme Day: Cooking

This young lady was rolling out dough for whole wheat bread. She was making it from scratch, and not even from store-bought flour. The flour had actually been freshly ground there at the Craft and Heritage Festival. You can see the woodstove for baking it on the left.

I did ask permission before taking her picture because some Mennonite churches discourage photography while others don’t mind it. 

The festival was outdoors, so I took Charlie and he behaved himself. It is sponsored by the Fort Valley Museum.

Fort Valley is a charming rural region of Shenandoah County. I decided to do the post in black-and-white in keeping with the old-fashioned theme of the festival.

Annual Art Show in The Plains

The Plains is a charming small town in Fauquier County. I've been to the art show at Grace Church before and found it delightful, so yesterday I invited Deborah and Frank to go with me. She and I took turns watching Charlie.

Collage of Paintings that caught my eye.

I walked Charlie around the back of the stone church building. The clerestory windows light up the upstairs room. 

A Montessori preschool meets in the church building and they have a playground. A bright floral mural is there.

Monday Murals / Garden Affair