St. John's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia)

St. John's Episcopal Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Virginia Landmarks Register
Richmond City Historic District
St. John's Church Historic District (ID70000884)
NRHP reference No.	66000920[1]
VLR No.	127-0013
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 20, 1961[4]
Designated CP	September 15, 1970
Designated VLR	September 9, 1969[3]

St. John's Church is an

.

History

Henricus

The earliest precursor of St. John's was Henrico Parish Church, initially located at Sir Thomas Dale's progressive development at Henricus (also known as the "Cittie of Henricus", "Henricopolis" or "Henrico Town"). When the colony was organized, the Anglican Church was the established church of the Crown.

Founded in the

.

It was at Henricus that colonists held

. Rolfe smuggled seeds of sweet Spanish tobacco into Virginia, where it rapidly replaced the much harsher local strains.

Whitaker was drowned in the James River in 1617. His associate, the Reverend

in 1619.

Henricus was an outpost of

, in which a third of all colonists in Virginia were killed.

The Virginia Company lost its charter in 1624 and Virginia became a royal colony. Henricus was not rebuilt, but its long-lost site, now located in Chesterfield County (formed from Henrico County in 1749), was discovered in the late 20th century. A county historical park is located there.

Varina, Henrico Parish

Despite the destruction of Henricus, the colony continued to grow, and a small village developed at Rolfe's Varina Farms Plantation, which became known as Varina (also called "Henrico Parish" in early years). The Shire of Henrico (soon renamed Henrico County) was formed in 1634 as one of the eight original shires of Virginia. The initial county seat was at Varina, which officially became a town in 1680. In those days before separation of church and state, the parish boundaries were the same as those of the county.

Notable among Henrico Parish's leaders was the Reverend Dr.

there.

Exact locations of the church buildings at Varina are unknown. A third or fourth church building was built a few miles east of Varina Farms on a plantation known as "Curles", some twenty miles east of the present city of Richmond, in the current Varina District of Henrico County. The only relic of that church still surviving is the bowl of the baptismal font, which today is used at St. John's.^{[citation needed]}

Richmond, Church Hill

Henrico Parish Church moved to Richmond in 1741, and was housed in what is now the Church Hill neighborhood, on land donated by William Byrd II. Byrd also donated timber used to build the church, and wood to fire the kiln for the bricks for the foundation. Henrico's county seat was also moved from Varina to Richmond in 1752. The county offices were moved to a building still extant at present-day Twenty-second and Main Streets, where they operated until the 1970s.

The builder of the new church was Col. Richard Randolph (1686–1748), great-uncle to Thomas Jefferson. The original church building was completed on June 10, 1741. It remains as the transept of the current church, built along east-west lines. In 1772, a forty-foot-square extension was added to the northern side, orienting the church towards the south, to which end the altar was moved.

Over one hundred frame churches similar to this existed in Virginia before the American Revolution, of which only four are still standing. One of these is the Old Chapel Church in Franklin County, Virginia^[5]

Second Virginia Convention

The Virginia colonial legislative assembly, the

.

The Reverend

!"), swayed the vote.

Under a Resolution offered by Richard Henry Lee, the House of Burgesses on May 15, 1776 resolved that "the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the united Colonies free and independent states."

It is notable that the Second Virginia Convention authorized

, and many of the common people had already become affiliated with Baptist and Methodist congregations. After the war, the Anglican Church was disestablished, and the Episcopal Church of the United States was organized.

Third Virginia Convention

The

Third Virginia Convention

was held at St. John's Church on July 17, 1775 to organize the troops and the war effort of Virginia. George Washington of Fairfax had been appointed head of the American Army. The delegates acknowledged the debt to Patrick Henry, whose wisdom had already begun the arming of the colony, and he was named the first Governor of Virginia.

American Revolutionary War

During the American Revolutionary War, in January 1781, General Benedict Arnold, the traitor who was then serving on the British side, quartered his troops in the church when Richmond was occupied.

Tourism

The church serves an active congregation and ministries, and also receives tourists as a historic site.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

George Wythe, the first law professor in the United States, a delegate to the Continental Congress and signatory of the Declaration of Independence, is buried in the churchyard. Elizabeth Arnold Poe, mother of author Edgar Allan Poe, is buried in the churchyard. Her exact burial spot is unknown, but a memorial marks the general area.

There is a gift shop located within the churchyard from which regular guided tours depart. These tours take place inside the church and explore the events in Virginia leading up to the Second Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry's

, and his political career. Reenactments featuring professional actors in 1700s costumes are offered on Sundays at 1:30 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day and regularly attract over 100 attendees. The Walter W. Craigie Speaker Series brings speakers to St. John's Church to talk about topics related to history and has included the 66th Governor of Virginia, Governor L. Douglas Wilder and the 67th Governor of Virginia, Governor George Allen.

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Richmond, Virginia

References

External links

• Saint John's Episcopal Church website
• St. John's Episcopal Church, U.S. Route 360, Warsaw, Richmond, VA: 2 photos at
  Historic American Buildings Survey