Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1891-01-10
OLDEST AMERICAN CHURCH.
About 200 miles south of the city
of Washington and = few miles south

Of the mouth of the james river, in
the ancient county OF Isle Of Wight,
in the state of Virginia, stands the
old building erected on this CONT
nent !, by English-speaking people.
says the Washington Star. 1t is a
church built entirely of brick, and
called ssSt. Luke e. and AOld Smith
field Church. While its heroic name
is "The Brick Church."
For 200 years the house OF wor-
ship, from time to time of the six
generations that sleep around it I'M
der the fine grove of oaks, sycamores,
walnuts and cedars, it resounds with
no voice of praise or prayer. 1t hav-
ing been abandoned in the year 1886
as church On account of most of
the members having died or moved
from the parish.
This venerable church was built in
the year 1882, one hundred years be-
fore Washington was born and only
twelve years after the landing Of the
pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. The
antiquity of the church is proven by
two deeply marked date bricks that
came down with the east wall in the
year 1887, when the original top fell
in.
The church was erected under the
superintendency of Capt. Joseph
Bridges, ''msn OF affairs" in the
shire of Isle of Wight at that time,
and finished after that substantial
fashion intended to last for ages, SO
that to-day the massive walls are as
strong as when first put up. 81
The chancel was the east end of
the nave yelled off, 1879 feet in size,
The pulpit (wine-glass in sbape),
n
with its handsome sounding-board
above, was set against the sink wall
about the middle, and the rest of the
nave was given up to pews. Two
alsles admitted the people-one from
the tower door, five or six feet wide,
and the other from wide, square
door in the south wall, the two form
ing T.
On the other side of the chancel
were two pews-one for the warden.
and the other for the parsons family.
Immediately over the entrance from
the tower there stretched across the
church gallery ,approached by steps
from the church, and through which
the parson made his way from the
vestry-room, in the second story of
the tower.
The chancel (east) window is lSx
IL feet in size, square at the bottom
and a quarter circle in shape at the
top. 1t is composed of seventeen
small windows, ranging in size from
XXI feet to 5x2 feet.
The orientation is perfect, the ris-
ing sun shooting his first rays direct
through it. Each side of the church
contains four double lancet windows,
Sx6 feet in size, and the second story
OF the tower (vestry-room) is lighted
by three like-shaped windows about
6x4 feet. The yestibule in the tow
er has an elliptical window in each
side about 30x24 inches in dimen-
sions, and the third-story has four
windows shaped much like the chan.
eel window. The dividing mullions
are all of ornamental brick.
The church having been abandon
ed as a house of worship in 1886, in
the year 1885, the Rev. David Barr,
then rector of the church of Smith
vile, Va, and now assistant rector
OF the Church of the Epiphany, in
Washington, D. c., undertook the
work of having the old church put
in perfect and complete order. Since
then he has devoted much time to
his labor of love, and with great sue
cess. At this time there is lacking
only about one thousand dollars to
finish the work.
In the restoration of twelve of the
small windows composing the east
window, the nave windows and YES
try room windows are to be memoir
ials. In the east window will be one
each to Washington (the only me-
mortal window to him in the United
States); Lee Bridges the builder of
the church; the Rev. Mr.. Hubbard,
the last colonial parson of the church
Cup to 1902, when he died); Bishops
Madison, Moore, Meade and Johns,
Virginia's four deceased chief pas
tors; Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain
John Smith, John Role, husband of
Pocahontas, and the Rev. DR.. Blair,
founder of William and Mary Col
lege.
The southeast corner window in
the nave will be memorial of Poca-
hontas, provided principally by her
descendants, and the two opposite
ones are memorials of Parsons Hunt
and Whitaker, first and second
chaplains with Captain John Smith
in the Virginia colony. Whitaker
baptized Pocahontas and married
her to Rolfe.
The first roof was put on the
phurob IN, 1922 4ho eonord - 1hob