
White Oak Primitive Baptist Church - Falmouth VA
N 38° 18.017 W 077° 22.543
18S E 292257 N 4241803
A simple church built over 200 years ago still holds services today in Stafford County, VA.
Waymark Code: WM8F6P
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2010
Views: 1
A clapboard church was erected by Stafford County Baptists in 1789 and was known as White Oak Church of Christ. An attached shed was later added with a separate entrance for the black members of the congregation, many of who were slaves at nearby
Chatham
.
The name was changed in the 1830s in opposition to Baptists who had strayed from the original doctrines.
During the Civil War from 1862 to 1863, 20,000 troops of the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, set up a bivouac in the area. During this time the church served as a hospital, a United States Christian Commission station, and a photography studio. Delegates from the U.S. Christian Commission distributed testaments to soldiers and conducted worship services and prayer meetings.
Winters were harsh and many soldiers died of disease. Fifty-two were buried on the church grounds, but their bodies were later moved to Fredericksburg National Cemetery
.
Because of its historic significance, the White Oak Primitive Baptist Church was named as a Virginia Historic Landmark in 1991 and is an U.S. Civl War Trails site.
Services are held on the 1st Sunday at 10:30 AM and the 3rd Sunday at 2:30 PM. The church is locked during all other times although the grounds and cemetery are open to the public.
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