Emmanuel Episcopal Church Traditional Cache
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
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Seventh in the series, Historic Places of Northern Fauquier County
Many people pass this lovely little church daily on their commute or on weekends as they come out to the "country". Now is a good time to stop, stroll the grounds, soak up the history, and enjoy the peace. Tune out the traffic from Rt 66, and it's a perfect place to refresh your soul.
Both the Methodists and the Episcopalians shared a meetinghouse about a mile west of here beginning about 1816 known as Cool Spring. When the need arose, each congregation decided to build their own buildings. The Methodists built a new church building across the road from the old meetinghouse, and the Episcopal congregation built Emmanuel. Both buildings were completed in 1858. This church was consecrated July 23, 1859 by Bishop William Meade and used until the Civil War demanded that armies of both sides convert it for a shelter or hospital. General McClellan's troops, spending time at nearby Rectortown, left some signatures on an interior wall.
The War disrupted worship services here and the services were few until Easter Monday, April 17, 1865, when Rev. William F. Gardner took over the church. Regular services have been held here ever since.
The cemetery is shaded by tall trees and old boxwood bushes. Some of the modern memorial stones are quite creative and worthy of a closer look. The church sponsors a preschool that is housed in the separate parish hall building and there are many ministries in which the church has an active participation, the largest being the Delaplane Strawberry Festival. Take a few minutes and enjoy the setting.
Please don't cache during worship services on Sunday. Permission has been granted by the Vestry Board to allow geocaching here. They hope you enjoy this gem of a church. More information can be found at their website: www.emmanuel-delaplane.org
BYOP
Congratulations for FTF to Two000miler and Fionaby and for their comments regarding this and other caches in the series.
Additional Hints
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