The document summarizes the history of a church in Botetourt County, Virginia from its founding in the 1770s through the early 2000s. It discusses the church's origins among dissenting Anglicans, key events like the French and Indian War that impacted the region, the establishment of Botetourt Parish and county, and challenges the church faced over the centuries like declining attendance and uncertainty over church leadership. It poses questions for further research into the church's history and growth.

1. A brief review of our church’s history, based on….

2. Key questions to consider…
• Has the church always been small? If so, why?
(geography, politics, economic development, etc.)
• Think about the relationship between the Presbyterians and the
Episcopalians…. If many of the first wardens and vestrymen were
dissenters ( not devout Anglicans), wouldn’t they have mostly transferred
their loyalty to a Presbyterian church? Who was left?
• What individuals and families have been most responsible for the growth
and survival of this church?
• What important events and political context framed the church’s history?
• How was the historic church different from today’s church?

3. Timeline of events in the back country… leading to the establishment of the
Town of Fincastle and of Botetourt Parish
• 1738 – decision by the House of Burgesses to allow non-Anglicans into the western
territory…to provide a buffer against the French and Indians.
• 1740’s - flood of eager landowners
• 1748 – Augusta County established ( Staunton, county seat)
• 1754 – 1763 - French and Indian War
• 1763 – King’s Proclamation
• 1764-1770 - continued uncertainty over land claims
• 1770 – Botetourt County is formed…Fincastle becomes county seat…

4. In the 1770s, as an outpost of the Church of England, the wardens and
vestry of the tiny church in Fincastle had many responsibilities,
including punishing offenders by whipping…

5. Imagine the challenges of collecting tithes from everyone in parish…

6. Vestrymen also served as processioners, settling
disputes about boundaries between tracts of
land. Many of the first twelve vestrymen lived far
from Fincastle, and were busy establishing their
own land claims, along the New River, and
beyond.
Early map used by
George Washington

7. • With the demise of Fincastle County on December 31, 1776, Botetourt
Parish was split into four parishes to conform with the boundaries of the
counties of Botetourt, Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky, formed
January 1, 1777.

8. More questions than answers about the Established Church building….

9. Smyth died in 1785, “a somewhat embittered man”

10. After the death of Rev. Smyth…

11. Grove Hill was the
haven of the Episcopal
Church in Botetourt for
years…it burned in
1909…

12. Diocese of Virginia in
decline…
The sad state of the church during this period is reflected in
the records of the annual General Convention of the Diocese
which shows that attendance steadily declined from
a high of 101 in 1785 to a low of 16 in 1813.

13. Presbyterians petition to erect a church

14. Title to land for a new church building…

15. Some things we know, and some
things we’re not so sure about…
In 1956, Tiffany’s declared it to be from the time of George II.
In 2011, Bob Miller, of Ken Farmer Auctions, concluded that it was from the
Victorian era

16. Into the Twentieth Century:
New life and vitality in the 1960s…

19. Work to be done….
1) Seek information from church families
2) Seek information from other churches
3) Gather copies of other histories relating to Botetourt Co.
4) Collect information about events since 1970, when the last
history (by Charles Francis Cocke) was written, and begin a
Part Two… about the past fifty years…