The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-10-28
| From Colonial Churches In Nir
ginia." by courtesy of southern
Churchman Company.
1t. PauI~ Church. King George
County. Va.


1t. IauT- Church. King George
County. Va,
BY Miss Mamie Byrd Turner.
In X ing George county, a few miles
from the Potomac river and ten from
shc Rappahannock. stands old St
paufs church, one of the most ven-
cradle and interesting of the colonial
churches of Virginia, Regarding its
exact age there IS doubt, as the writ
ten statements concerning il vary, and
there seems as yet no way of de-
termining which Is right We find
the parish records. however, running
back as far as the year 1915. with
references to still earlier records. and
furnishing a sort of context To the
history of the present binding.
This building was erected sorhe-
where about the middle of the eigh-
teenth century, and is consequently
now over Il hundred and fifty years
old It VAS built for the ministra-
ton Of the Rev. William Stuart. son
of the first rector of the parish, the
Rev. David Stuart. The latter Ill
rect descendant of the royal house of
stuart, came to this country from
Scotland in Ills. and was soon after
given charge OF St Paul's parish,
though the church building at that
time was some miles distant from its
present site. The two Stuarts father
and son for nearly eighty years fed
the flock Of Christ in the same field
though il was not until the Rev.
William stuart took charge. about
1T6n. that the ST. Paufs OF to-day
the brick o0lidlhe ho% staHuias a
erected This sanity man left name
tt'ie suiuVs a'i,,'t N''
records that follow hun. Ills goodness
and eIoauence ana ioNa"ie Ptlsohail NY
appear 70 nave Stteiib 'itiie" aAU
hrautifled the sphN 81 me paths
ana ted II INTO srea, re'isious Pi"S-
ppiftS' fffs Eurr VI ir9's ia 'i't''
Wh*h pliSsltal ifaii,s az last 'oIiip'','
cd MN 10 give up tiit "oi ~ ~ .ou'i
lng IN HIS faihsIea Soitei'u"t anu SUI
Mission
To the Nestry OF II. fahl farish,
Gentiemen,~~ nave peeh caFate "a
this PARISH upward OF Forty years. NJ
own conscience bears ME witness, aho
| trust my pensioners tthough many
OF them nave faiieh asfeeI'} VIII hise
witness that untti age ana ihhffnitleS
disabled me. anyways >" iaf AS iiA
infirmities would allow. ialthiullS ols'
charged my duties as minister Oh
the gospel. 1t has gwen me many
hours of ANXIOUS concern that the ser
vices of the chnfeh should be 50 ions
discontinued on my account IN.
spirit indeed Is Wiling. nut the hesf
IL weak. | therefore entreat the laNoi
81 YOU to provide me successor as
soon az YOU can. that divine service
may be discontinued no longer. anc
at the end OF the year the giebe shai
he given up TO him BY your affection
ate servant.
WILLIAM SItAk
But with his passing old ST Paul
fell on evil days. tof some reason
his successor was never ordained Il
the priesthood. and here We discern
what was. perhaps the first shade"
of the darkness that followed. A few
years after he died we ma the Crane
building in ruins, and, as "A Nestry'
man Of later day wrote sadly. Inc
life of the church almost gone out.
nnly the walls remains, of such won
derful masonry as to defy all ravage'
and these were desecrated The
history of this period must be takef
either as record of unprecedented
poverty among the people or else a.
a sharp commentary on the coldnes'
and laxity of the time--perhaps poth
The chronicler states that there wa
occasionally lay reading In the RUNS
and this was all, except Tor asso
citation meetings AT Intervals fol
the rest beasts of the held foames
through the church, or what was lei
of it. soldiers camped there. and tn
decaying contents furnished plunde
for the ruthless OF the iahd. Bish
op Meade's account of his VISITATION
In 1872 is a vivid pen picture of TN
desolatSon that had come upon I'M
once prosperous church. lie says:
ST Paufs was then IN RUNS. I'M
roof was ready to fall. and not win
dow. door, pew or timber remained
/ below. Nevertheless. notice was slNeI
that we would preach there rude
temporary pulpit or stand was raised
in ono angle Of the cross and IRON
that we performed service ana al
dressed the people. On the night be