OLDE ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL
From a History written by June Grossman and Catherine Slasor
From a History written by June Grossman and Catherine Slasor
OLDE ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL church was established in 1793 by pioneer missionary, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Doddridge, as the first Episcopal Church west of the Allegheny Mountains. The present building is the third to be occupied by the congregation and is an example of simple Colonial architecture.
Services, according to the Panhandle History, were first held in the Wiggins home, near the stream of Cross Creek.
Most early records have been lost, so that an accurate history of the congregation is not possible. The story has been handed down that a log building was erected near the intersection of what is now Eldersville Road and Morton Road, in 1793. Legend also says that a frame church was built at the present site of the brick edifice, which dates back to 1849. The bricks were burned on the premises.
Many pioneer families were instrumental in the early beginnings of the church. A Parish register dating to March 22, 1834, reads as its first entry, "James Wallace transferred to John Hendricks, William Baxter, John Handliss and William Elliott one acre for St John's Protestant Episcopal Church". (Records of Brooke County, Virginia)
The Doddridge name has always been associated with Christianity. Joseph became a Methodist Circuit Rider when he was eighteen years of age, traveling with Francis Asbury, helping to establish churches. He died November 9, 1826 and is buried in Brooke Cemetery.
Services, according to the Panhandle History, were first held in the Wiggins home, near the stream of Cross Creek.
Most early records have been lost, so that an accurate history of the congregation is not possible. The story has been handed down that a log building was erected near the intersection of what is now Eldersville Road and Morton Road, in 1793. Legend also says that a frame church was built at the present site of the brick edifice, which dates back to 1849. The bricks were burned on the premises.
Many pioneer families were instrumental in the early beginnings of the church. A Parish register dating to March 22, 1834, reads as its first entry, "James Wallace transferred to John Hendricks, William Baxter, John Handliss and William Elliott one acre for St John's Protestant Episcopal Church". (Records of Brooke County, Virginia)
The Doddridge name has always been associated with Christianity. Joseph became a Methodist Circuit Rider when he was eighteen years of age, traveling with Francis Asbury, helping to establish churches. He died November 9, 1826 and is buried in Brooke Cemetery.