This church is a few miles from my house and so unique I had to stop to inspect. I quickly saw that it was a memorial to a church and not a building under construction. I have no idea what the original building looked like, but really like this one. No walls, no doors, no barriers. All are welcome to stop by anytime of day. No locks on the doors, you are never late or rushed to leave. Besides that, the church is not a building after all, but people.
A little about the history...
At the request of the Hanover dissenters, Samuel Davies, a newly ordained 23-year-old Presbyterian minister from Pennsylvania arrived in 1747 to be pastor of the Polegreen Church. He was the first non-Anglican minister licensed to preach in Virginia. Davies remained in Virginia until 1759 and made a significant contribution to the religious and political climate of the colony. Among his notable achievements was his efforts in to provide education to slaves.
In 1864 the church burned to the ground when Confederate artillery fired on it to dislodge Union sharpshooters. The Historic Polegreen Church Foundation built this memorial over the original church site.
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