Mangohick Church
History
During the western expansion of English settlement in Virginia, St. Margaret's Parish was established in 1720 to serve the upriver area between the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers of then-vast King William County, thus splitting St. John's parish. Mangohick church was built circa 1730 as a chapel of ease for people living between the existing parishes, first located near the respective county courthouses. Bricks shipped from England were reportedly used to construct it. In 1742, the Virginia General Assembly limited St. Margaret's parish to Caroline County, and in 1744 established St. David's parish near the port of Aylett to serve the western area of King William county (whose boundaries ceased changing). Mangohick then became a chapel of east for St. David's parish. After Virginia's disestablishment of the Anglican Church (which had become the Episcopal Church following the Revolutionary War), Mangohick became a "free church", used by various denominations. Before the Civil War, the three colonial churches in Caroline County, as well as St. David's church fell into disrepair, and were replaced by clapboard wooden churches, with St. Margaret's Church at Ruther Glen, Virginia also eventually also becoming a Baptist congregation in modern times before returning to disuse.
During the Civil War, General Grant pitched his tent near the church, on May 27, 1864, as he maneuvered South and East of General Lee in the prelude to the Battle of Cold Harbor. The Union Baptist Church was formed at this location, and had both white and black members, but by 1920 the congregation was Black.
Architecture
The one-story, rectangular brick building has a steep gable roof and measures 61 feet by 21 feet. The bricks were laid in English bond style below the water table, and Flemish bond style below the water table. The interior features a raised chancel and single pulpit. The tongue-and grove boards have been dated to the late 19th century, and the rear addition of church offices is modern.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ Chamberlayne, Churchill G. "Seven Parish Acts Heretofore Unpublished," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Jan. 1938):106-118.
- ^ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission staff (July 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Mangohick Church" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
- ^ https://www.familysearch.org/en/key/St._Margarets_Parish,_Virginia
- ^ NRIS section 8
- ^ "050-0041".
- ^ NRIS section 7
- ^ NRIS section 7
External links
- Mangohick Baptist Church, State Route 638, Mangohick, King William County, VA: 1 photo at Historic American Buildings Survey