Pohick Church is an Episcopal
church in the community of
Pohick
near
Lorton
in Fairfax
County
, Virginia
, United States
.
History
Originally
founded around 1695 as Occoquan Church, in the
Anglican Truro Parish
of Virginia, it was later renamed Pohick Church in
1732 after relocating near Pohick
Creek, a site now occupied by Cranford Methodist
Church.
In 1769, work was begun on the present Pohick Church structure and
it was completed in 1774. It had several notable members of the
vestry who helped raise funds for its
construction, including the first
President of the United
States,
George Washington, and
his father
Augustine,
George Mason, and
George William Fairfax (a relative of
Thomas
Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron). It was custom at the
time to raise money for the funding of the church through the
purchase of private
pew boxes.
Following the disestablishment of the Anglican church by the
United States Congress in
1785, many of what were renamed Episocpal churches fell into
decline. However, Pohick Church remained active with Washington
biographer
Parson Weems serving as
rector of the church
periodically.
However, the church was raided by the
British in the
War of
1812 and was only used sporadically by Episcopals in the early
part of the 19th century and the building fell into decline.
A national fundraising effort allowed for a restoration in the
1840s but during the
Civil War,
the church was taken over by occupying
Union troops, who used the church building as a
stable.
Northern soldiers
vandalized and
looted the
building and their
graffiti is still
visible on the church walls.
Following the Civil war, services at the Pohick Church resumed in
1874 and the building underwent another restoration at the end of
the 19th century.
References
External links
Wikis
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