Old Pine Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Old Pine Church
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Front of the church
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 Old Pine Church
Location in Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
Old Pine Church
Location in West Virginia
Old Pine Church
Location in the United States
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| Location | Old Pine Church Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 220/15) Purgitsville, West Virginia, United States |
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| Area | 2.3 acres (0.93 hectares) |
| Built | 1838 |
| Architectural style | Front gable |
| NRHP reference No. | 12001049 |
| Designated | December 12, 2012 |
Old Pine Church, also known as Mill Church, Nicholas Church, and Pine Church, is a historic church built in the mid-1800s. It is located near Purgitsville, West Virginia, United States. This church is one of the oldest log churches still standing in Hampshire County. Other old log churches include Capon Chapel and Mount Bethel Church.
The church was built in 1838. It was meant to be a "union church," meaning it welcomed people from different Christian groups. Many early settlers in the Mill Creek valley were from Germany. So, Old Pine Church might have been a meeting place for a group called the Schwarzenau Brethren, also known as "Dunkers" or "Dunkards." German Methodist settlers also used the church.
By 1870, the Brethren group mainly used the church. In 1878, the church's members split into two groups: White Pine Church of the Brethren and Old Pine Church. Both groups continued to use the same building until 1907.
In the early 1900s, Old Pine Church was also used as a school, while still holding church services. In 1968, people in the Purgitsville area raised money to fix up the church. Because of its important old design and history, Old Pine Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 2012.
The church is a large, one-story building made of logs. It has a pointed roof at the front and is covered with brown wooden siding. You can still see the original log beams under the church, some even have bark on them! Inside, the ceiling is about 15 feet high and covered with cool pressed metal panels. Some of the church benches (called pews) are from 1857. In the church's cemetery next door, the oldest gravestone found is from 1834. Some unmarked graves might be even older, from as far back as 1759.
Contents
Where is Old Pine Church Located?
Old Pine Church and its cemetery are on a steep road called Old Pine Church Road. This is about 1.66 miles south of the small town of Purgitsville. The church and cemetery sit on 2.3 acres of land on top of a hill, west of United States Route 220. It's about 1,129 feet high up! Old forests surround the property.
The church is in a countryside area of southwestern Hampshire County. This area is part of the Mill Creek valley. To the west of the valley is Patterson Creek Mountain, a forested mountain ridge. To the east are the forested hills of Mill Creek Mountain. A famous spot called The Trough on the South Branch Potomac River is about 3 miles east of the church, across Mill Creek Mountain.
The Church's Long History
How the Land Became a Church Site
The land where Old Pine Church stands was once part of a huge land grant called the Northern Neck Proprietary. This grant was given by King Charles II in 1649. Over time, the land passed to different owners, finally ending up with Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1719.
The church is in the Mill Creek valley. Lord Fairfax wanted more people to settle on his land. The valley was one of the first parts of what is now Hampshire County to be settled by white people, starting in the mid-1700s. People liked the valley because its land was good for farming. As more people moved in, a small trading village called Purgitsville grew along Mill Creek. It was named after Henry Purgitt, who bought land there in the late 1700s. Purgitsville grew to have a small store, a post office, and a blacksmith shop.
Building the First Church
It's not fully clear when the very first church building was constructed. Some say it might have been around 1814, or even as early as 1792.
On September 24, 1838, a man named William Pomkrotz and his wife, Milly, gave a piece of land to a group of people called trustees. Their job was to build "a church or house for public worship for the use and convenience of Ministers and others of the Christians Denominations Whatsoever." This means the church was built for all Christian groups to use, not just one. This is why it's called a "union church." The first minister there was reportedly Nicholas Leatherman.
The Brethren Church Connection
There aren't many old records about the church's early days, maybe because no single church group owned it. Different Christian groups held meetings at Old Pine Church. This included the Schwarzenau Brethren (also called German Baptist Brethren), who started holding services there in the late 1800s. Since many settlers in the Mill Creek valley were German, Old Pine Church might have been built as a meeting place for the Brethren, who were sometimes called "Dunkers." German Methodists also used the church.
The Brethren are a Christian group that practices baptism by dipping a person into water three times, once for each part of the Holy Trinity. They believed only in the New Testament and didn't follow other creeds. The inside of Old Pine Church is one big open space, which shows its connection to the Brethren. This design also relates to their beliefs about slavery. The Brethren believed that their members should not buy or keep enslaved people. Even though many people in Hampshire County owned slaves before the American Civil War, it's thought that Brethren members in the area did not.
The Brethren group had been in the South Branch Potomac River valley since the 1750s. Old Pine Church was likely used by members of the Beaver Run congregation, which was about 10 miles south. It was too far for them to travel easily to their main church. So, Old Pine Church started as a smaller mission church for them.
By 1870, the Brethren group mainly used Old Pine Church. In 1879, the Beaver Run congregation changed its boundaries. This might have caused the church members at Old Pine Church to split into two groups: White Pine Church of the Brethren and Old Pine Church. Both groups kept using the Old Pine Church building at different times. The White Pine Church of the Brethren used it until they built their own church in 1907. By 1897, Old Pine Church was still owned by several Christian groups, but the Brethren had the most members using it.
Old Pine Church was also used as a school in the early 1900s, while still being a place of worship. A small room was added to the church for the school teacher to live in. The church also continued to be used for funerals and family get-togethers.
Fixing Up the Church
In 1968, people in the Purgitsville community raised money to restore Old Pine Church. They fixed the original windows and painted the outside wood. A new roof was put on, and the old wooden floor was replaced. The small room where the teacher lived was probably removed.
What Old Pine Church is Used for Today
As of 2012, Old Pine Church is still used for community events, funerals, special church meetings, and one annual church service. Regular church services haven't happened there since the mid-1900s. The cemetery next to the church is still used for burials. Over the years, Old Pine Church has been known by many names, like "Mill Church," "Nicholas Church," and "Pine Church."
In 2008, local groups started a project to get historic buildings like Old Pine Church listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Old Pine Church was one of the first eight historic places chosen for this honor in Hampshire County. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 2012. This was because it's a great example of an early church building from the settlement era in the Potomac Highlands.
Church Design and Look
Outside the Church
Old Pine Church is a large, one-story building made of logs. It has a pointed roof at the front. The front of the church faces west and has a main entrance with two sets of four-paneled doors. You reach the entrance by two concrete steps, with metal handrails on each side. Above the door is a small white wooden sign that says "Old Pine Church" in black letters. On either side of the doors are two large wooden windows. Each window has nine small glass panes on the top part and six on the bottom.
The north and south sides of the church also have two of these large wooden windows. Between the two windows on the north side is an outside chimney made of concrete blocks. The back of the church, facing east, also has three of these windows. The middle window is placed above the other two. The church's windows have been fixed using materials that match the original ones.
At the bottom of each of the church's four corners is a large, uncut stone. Smaller stones fill in the church's foundation around the edges. These were added later to keep animals out. You can see the original log beams under the church, some still have bark on them! The church is covered with brown wooden siding and has a modern metal roof.
A historian named Sandra Scaffidi says that the simple design of Old Pine Church shows how early settlers used materials they had. It's a great example of how log buildings were made for churches by the first settlers in Hampshire County. She says it's a "simple design and form common to the early ecclesiastical buildings" and an "excellent example of one of the area's early rural church complexes."
Inside the Church
The inside of the church is one big open space. A simple wooden pulpit (where the minister speaks) stands against the back wall, under the middle window. The church's floor is made of pine boards that were put in during the 1968 restoration.
The church's ceiling is about 15 feet high and covered with pressed metal panels. There's a small opening to get into the church's attic. The window frames inside are plain and about 1 foot deep. The inside walls are covered with plasterboard, which is not painted or finished.
The church used to have a small wood-burning stove in the middle of the room. Later, it was moved to the north wall. This stove is still the only way the church is heated.
Several of the church's benches, called pews, are from 1857 and are still used today. These pews are very simple. Each one has a long wooden seat and a thin rail for a backrest, supported by three spindles. The pews are held up by three arched supports. The newer pews look the same but were built with modern nails and wood. Most of the pews are arranged facing the front of the church, with an aisle in the middle. There are also some pews along the north and south walls. The pulpit is at the east end. There is an upright piano in the northeast corner of the church.
The Church Cemetery
Old Pine Church is surrounded on three sides by a cemetery. About 200 people are buried there. The oldest part of the cemetery is right next to the church building, on the east and south sides. The oldest gravestone that is still there dates from 1834. However, some unmarked graves in the cemetery might be even older, possibly from as early as 1759. The church's sign along U.S. Route 220 incorrectly says the oldest graves are from 1792.
The gravestones in the cemetery face both east and west. Most of them are simple, with birth and death dates carved into them. They are made of different shapes, like rounded, arched, rectangular, and pyramid-shaped stones, likely cut from limestone. In the southern part of the cemetery, there are several small rectangular stones that were probably footstones (placed at the foot of a grave). After about 1950, the gravestones became more fancy, with shiny granite surfaces on top of rough-cut stone bases.
Old Pine Church's cemetery has several old, tall trees around it. A large oak tree hangs over the southwestern part of the cemetery. There's also another piece of land next to the cemetery, bought around 1950, for more burials. A chicken wire fence supported by wooden posts surrounds the cemetery. There's a large gate north of the church that allows machines to enter the cemetery.
See also
