The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-18
AN OLD VIRGINIA CHURCH.
The Unique Structure That Has Never
 Been Restored"

The Unique Structure That Has Never Been "Restored.'
 In remote corner of Lancaster county, Va, is an old colonial church which is generally conceded to be the quaintest building in Virginia, and is said to have the distinction of being the only church in this country which yet remains exactly as 1t was in colo | nial days. Other colonial churches still standing have been so much Ire stored" that 1t is well-nigh impossible to gain from them an exact idea of | what they formerly were. This old Christ church, thanks probably to its | inaccessible location and the conse- quent withdrawal of It's congregation | to other churches, has had no altera- tions whatever made in 1t, except those
 caused by time; those 1t has withstood | to a remarkable degree, owing to its
 sturdy and solid construction.
 The church was built in the year
 1732 on the site of an older one, which
 had been erected nearly seventy years
 before. Much of the same material
 which had done service In the first
 church was used in building the sec | ond The old tombstones bearing
 dates of 1869, 1874, etc, were carefully
 removed into it, as was also the vestry 1 book of the parish kept from the year | 1854 to TITO, a volume of great value | and interest Recently the Society for 1 the Preservation of Virginia Antiqui- | ties has been impressed with the inn | portance of caring for so unique relic | and has donated sum to be used in | preserving the building.
 1 The location of the church makes 1t l inaccessible save by a days journey | by river so comparatively few have seen it. On our arrival we found the | quaintest building it had ever been our good fortune to come across. Guarded | by an old colored man, who lived in a shanty across the roadside, who fairly
 beamed with delight on seeing us, for | visitors are scarce in that out-of-the- way spot, the church, which he re- garded with the pride of proprietor ship, never fails to elicit admiration from all. Accordingly, Uncle Tom conducted us with much ceremony into | the church, which is built in the shape of a Greek cross, with four beautiful dTCHeS SuppUItlIlS bHc SCiiSCi eiiiu forming a lofty dome, where the arms of the cross defect The brick walls are three feet thick. The pulpit is perched high in the air on the side of
 the northeast archway, and to get into it one has to perform the rather difff- cult feat of climbing the narrow wind
 ing stairway, now in rickety condi-
 tion.
 Over the pulpit is a quaint sounding
 board, and at the foot of the winding
 stair is the old-time clerks desk.
 These, and also the communion table,
 pews and massive doors. are of solid
 black walnut, carved by hand. The
 pews are square, with backs so high
 that while sitting or kneeling their oc-
 cupants are entirely hidden. Small
 chance there of stealing glance at
 pretty neighbors across the way. for
 as old Uncle Tom remarked, with a
 chuckle, "There war'nt nothin' to dc
 but jest look at the preacher or take g
 nap" This preacher, it may be men
 toned, received for salary sixteer
 thousand pounds of tobacco year, as
 was the custom in early Virginia. Tt
 raise this, it being a state church, the