A Call to Save Historic St. John’s Church

Yesterday, I read a distressing account of deteriorating conditions one of the most revered of American landmarks, St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia.  Time and weather are ravaging the 18^th century building and I want to amplify the call for help.  In case you do not know the history, the congregation was founded at Henricus near Richmond in 1611 and is one of the oldest in America.  Of greater importance, St. John’s served as a temporary meeting place for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1775 where Patrick Henry delivered one of the most important speeches in American History.  It is there he implored the audience to take up arms against England saying “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” (For more on the speech, see: March 23, 1775: A Call to Arms: “Give Me Liberty of Give Me Death!”).  The speech has since come to symbolize American resolve to win independence in the Revolutionary War, memorized by generations of schoolchildren.  St. John’s Church is one of the most important shrines for American Liberty and today it is in danger.

An old coat of red paint has trapped moisture in the brick base which is eroding the very foundation of the church.  Rotting wood lintels, beams and joists threaten to undermine the church structure as well.  The damage requires immediate action to shore up St. John’s foundation.  The Cabell Foundation has contributed up to $50,000 but requires matching funds be raised to reach to full pledge.  The Roller-Bottimore Foundation donated $25,000 to get things started.  The rest is up to us.

We all have a collective obligation to preserve this landmark for future generations.  St. John’s is a living monument to our past and present as a free people.  Time is of the essence.

Please take a moment and make a contribution to Project Redcoat via this link: https://www.historicstjohnschurch.org/project-redcoat

Deteriorating brick

Roots growing under the foundation

Rotted wood supports

A retaining wall undermined

Rotting lintels

St. John’s is also the final resting place for 1,400 or more early Americans, including George Wythe, Governor John Page, Edgar Allan Poe’s mother Eliza Poe, Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans and many others.  The exact number is unknown but approximately 400 stone markers remain.  Of those, 117 are in critical condition (such as the one pictured to the left) and another 107 are also in bad shape.  Restoration efforts are ongoing.

George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Constitutionl Convention delegate; America’s first law professor who taught Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Marshall, Henry Clay, St. George Tucker, Spencer Roane, Bushrod Washington and others

Revolutionary War veteran Congressman and Governor John Page

Eliza Poe

A reader pointed out that I have neglected to bring proper attention to the fact that St. John’s has an active congregation and I am amending this entry to correct that oversight.

Originally named Henrico Parish Church, the congregation is one of the oldest in America forming in the Cittie of Henricus, the second settlement in Virginia after Jamestown.  When Samuel Argyll captured Pocahontas in 1613, she came to Henricus where she converted to Christianity attending services at the church.  Opechancanough’s braves razed the settlement in 1622 as part of their effort to wipe out the English colony.  The congregation re-formed at Varina where it remained until William Byrd II began the effort to found a settlement at the fall line of the James River named Richmond.  Byrd donated land and construction materials while Thomas Jefferson’s great uncle Colonel Richard Randolph oversaw construction in 1741 atop one of the several hills dominating the new town.

Thus, St. John’s was an important part of the founding of Richmond and the first neighborhood that grew up around the church took the name Church Hill.  Like most Anglican churches, St. John’s shifted to the Episcopalian denomination during the Revolutionary War.  Following Patrick Henry’s famous speech, the congregation thrived and grew throughout the following decades through the Civil War.

De-population of the urban center of Richmond in the mid-20^th century resulted in a decline in the neighborhood. Since the early 1990s though, Church Hill has experienced a resurgence of homeowners which has allowed the congregation to rebound as well.  Today, St. John’s has an active and growing Episcopalian congregation with a full range of functions including a choir, Sunday schools, weddings, and adult Christian classes.  The church also performs outreach within the community and has active and varied charitable initiatives

To the extent that I unintentionally depicted St. John’s as a museum, I issue a heartfelt apology.

Sources:

https://www.wtvr.com/i-have-a-story/big-problems-at-historic-st-johns-church-in-richmond-we-cant-let-it-go-any-longer?fbclid=IwAR2f1v62x6c-xJxd3ZrPYlYfMMdxRnKLD9m7-xtPUc_7YyaShPxFOkF6eKU

https://www.historicstjohnschurch.org/project-redcoat

https://www.historicstjohnschurch.org/cemetery