South River Friends Meetinghouse - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

Quaker’s settled in the area that would become Lynchburg in the mid-1750’s. The first worship services held as early as 1754 and the South River Meeting House was organized in 1757. Their first meeting house was a log structure that was built nearby on land donated by Sarah Clark Lynch. The original log building burned in 1768 and a second frame building was constructed on the original site. In 1791 the congregation had out grown the small frame building and the current stone structure was built on land donated by John Lynch, who was the founder of Lynchburg.

Due to economic hardship in the 1820’s many Quakers moved west to Ohio, and by the middle 1840’s the small congregation dissolved. The stone meeting house was abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair.

During the Civil War, Union Soldiers under the command of General David Hunter camped in and around the ruins of the stone church. General Hunter and his staff, which included two future Presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes, and William McKinley, established headquarters at nearby Sandusky.

In 1899, local Presbyterians purchased the property and after extensive renovations, used the stone building as their church. The Presbyterian held their first service in the renovated building in 1901 and continued to use the restored church 1950, when the adjacent larger church was built.

Today the South River Friends Meeting House is part of the Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church and is maintained as a historic landmark. Visitors may contact the secretary office at the adjacent Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church for a self-guided tour of the Old Meeting House. The secretary’s office is open Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Source/Credit: Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1791 Age of Church building determined by?: Church website If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Quaker/Presbyterian If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 9:00 AM To: 3:00 PM Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 12:00 AM Street address of Church: 5810 Fort Avenue Lynchburg, Va. United States 24502 Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed

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