Our History - Our Future
Morrisville Church has a history pre dating the Civil War. Our Church Historian has relied on old church bulletins, court house records and old fashioned oral history to paint a picture of our heritage. Our dear friend, Joyce Payne, compiled the following history for the 2002 Heritage Sunday Celebration.
We would love to hear from you if you have stories and memories to share. Please contact the church office at 540-349-2594.
We hope you enjoy a stroll through the history of Morrisville Church and the surrounding community.
(*Indicate information found in a bulletin prepared by Mrs. Newman Bolen of Bealton, VA that was saved by another dear friend, Mattie Dinkle.)
*"The history of our Morrisville Church goes back beyond the Civil War. There is no record of the beginning of our church in this community. No record of a deed to land purchased or of the building of a house of worship." The community memory of our Church clearly recalls that we did have a Church during the time of the War Between the States.
The Church building was *"located on the Jones tract of land, but was not on the present site. It was somewhere in the field through which the present road runs from J. Ford Thompson's store to the home of Mr. Sam H. Edwards.
During the war, soldiers of the Northern Army camped on the church grounds. The pews and flooring were torn out and used as fuel, and the church was stripped inside and used as a stable. The church was finally burnded to the ground.
The next place of worship was a bush arbor. This was used after the burning of the first Church until the erection of a building on the site of the present Church."
There are two locations described as the bush arbor and since no one is certain which is correct, we will enter both in our Church's history. The first site is described as being 'down Silver Cloud Road.' Where Silver Cloud Road dead ends at Courtney's Corner, there is a field. At one time, there was a thick grove of trees growing there. It was here, under the shelter of these branches, that our Church met.
The second site of the bush arbor is described as being on Morrisville Road, to the left of Margie Shipp's driveway (note - Margie was a member of our church and church history is recorded in this 'familiar' reference style.) Memory recalls that an old icehouse was once there, covered with vines. This 'arbor' is where the Church met.
*"In November of 1868, the present property, which contains one acre of land, was bought for the sum of $25.00 from James T. Colbert, Richard W. Colbert and his wife. The Trustees who made that purchase were: Wilfred S. Embrey, Frederick Embrey, James H. Helm, Jamison V. Rouse, James Bowen, Benjamin W. Allen and Wiliam G. Edwards. Work was begun on the Church soon after the property was acquired. The boards on the outside of the Church were straight up and down, and the cracks were stripped with narrow boards."
In a conversation with Eugene Brooks, it was learned that our second Church did not have a foundation. It sat on large rocks, was open underneath and had two chimneys. There was a sidewalk that led to the double-doors at the front of the Church. (The concrete in front of the present Church sign is from this old sidewalk). The pulpit was located on the cemetery side of the church. Wood for the wood stove was stored under the plupit offset to keep it dry. Later a shed was built to store the wood.
*"One of the first converts in the new Church was R.J. Embrey, who was converted during the first meeting held there. At that time, there was no organ or piano for the music and so the only instrument that was posessed was a tuning fork. Mr. John Allen led the singing with this tuning fork.
On July 18, 1887, there was bought from T.T. Jones a lot adjoining the Church property containing 162 poles, for the sum of $25.00. (A pole is the same as a rod: 16 1/2 feet). This property was for the purpose of building a parsonage. The parsonage was built under the pastorate of Rev. N. N. Hall shorly after the land was acquired. It was kept in good condition and used by all pastors until our Church became a part of the Remington Charge and the (location of the) parsonage was transferred there. The (Morrisville) parsonage was not sold until 1922, but was kept rented during this interval. At the sale of the parsonage the portion received by Morrisville was $73.23 from the rent and $329.67 from the sale.
Our Church secured $800.00 through a war claim for the burning of the original Church. This was used in remodeling and repairing the Church, which work was begun in 1915. Our Church stood as it was after this remodeling except for upkeep and many extensive repairs and furnishings until December 10, 1949, when it was completely destroyed by fire for the second time." The fire, thought to be caused by an electrical shortage, burned from about 2:00 AM to 3:30 AM.
*"The present church, of modern design and brick structure, was rebuilt on the original site in 1950, at a cost of about $22,000 and was dedicated September 9, 1956."
The earliest records available show that Morrisville Church was part of the Fauquier Circuit from 1872 to 1879. In 1879 the Church was added to the Stafford Charge, but returned to the Fauquier Circuit in 1882. There are no records on the Church from 1885 to 1900. *"It is assumed that from 1885 until 1887, Morrisville might have been on the Prince William Circuit. In 1887, however a parsonage was built at Morrisville, and so it is natural to believe that the charge which it belonged to had the same name - Morrisville. It remained as a part of the Morrisville Charge until 1917, when it was placed with the Reminton Charge, where it still is.
The Ladies Aid Society, dating back to 1892, was reorganized as a Women's Missionary Society in 1932 and re-chartered as the Women's Society of Christian Service in 1940.
There has been a Sunday School at Morrisville as long as the oldest members can recall. Since about 1910, it has been an "evergreen" school (that is all year round).
Morrisville United Methodist Church marched on and chruch services were then held every Sunday at 11:00 AM except 4th Sunday, when services were held at 7:45 PM."
While this portion of our history ends in 1958, we can truly say that we have only begun to write our story.
In 2005, Morrisville United Methodist Church and Remington Methodist Church became 'one charge churches'. Each church has their own full time Pastor and serves the needs of our individual communities. We are expanding our worship experience with the inclusion of our Praise Band and increased technoloy of audio and visual aids. Our options for spiritual growth have expanded with two bible studies on week nights and a chime choir. We've converted our basement into a home for sharing and caring.
Our services are now held at 9:00 AM every Sunday and we have a contemporary service called Worship Remix every third Saturday.
We have a vision of what God calls us to do: make Disciples of Christ. We intend to share Christ with our neighbors, and we consider the world our neighbor.
