“At The Crossroads of Faith and History”
As early as 1738 Quaker families who had settled in the Tenth Legion area n the middle of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, were worshipping in a log Meetinghouse located not far from where Bethlehem Stone Chiurch now sits. By the time of the American Revolution most of these Quakers had migrated farther south and west and their “Meeting” was moved from this area. For the next 70 years the community of Tenth Legion had no church or house of worship. During the first half of the 19th century Sunday Services were held in a log schoolhouse on the Valley Pike Toll-Gate Farm. In those days the Valley Pike, now Route 11, was a toll road.
In 1844, a local landowner named Jacob Martz donated a plot of land on the “Valley Pike cross- roads” for the purpose of building a “House of Divine Service.” A committee consisting of John Cowan, Jacob Cowan, Martin Martz, Dorilas Martz, and Jackson Martz was appointed to oversee the building of the new church. Selected to build the church was a young local stonemason named Jeremiah Clemens, and in 1845 the stone church was completed. It was built with local limestone. Named “Bethlehem Christian Church,” it was admitted into the Valley Christian Conference in 1851, and throughout its first fifty years the church was shared by several different Christian de- nominations.
When the war between the states came to the Valley, Bethlehem Stone Church served at times as a hospital was used to house prisoners overnight as the were moved on the Valley Pike. The church grounds housed various army encampments, and the church sustained considerable damage from artillery shelling. After the war the badly damaged Stone Church was little used. In 1881 money was raised to make the considerable repairs and the Stone Church continued to serve the community through the first half of the next century.
In 1952 a new brick church was built next to the Stone Church, and in 1958, when the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Churches united to form the United Church of Christ, Bethlehem Church became “Bethlehem United Church of Christ.”
The Stone Church was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1981 and in 2008 the congregation, the community and friends, joined together to enable complete restoration to both the exterior and the interior of the Old Stone Church. The restoration was completed in 2011.
In 1844, a local landowner named Jacob Martz donated a plot of land on the “Valley Pike cross- roads” for the purpose of building a “House of Divine Service.” A committee consisting of John Cowan, Jacob Cowan, Martin Martz, Dorilas Martz, and Jackson Martz was appointed to oversee the building of the new church. Selected to build the church was a young local stonemason named Jeremiah Clemens, and in 1845 the stone church was completed. It was built with local limestone. Named “Bethlehem Christian Church,” it was admitted into the Valley Christian Conference in 1851, and throughout its first fifty years the church was shared by several different Christian de- nominations.
When the war between the states came to the Valley, Bethlehem Stone Church served at times as a hospital was used to house prisoners overnight as the were moved on the Valley Pike. The church grounds housed various army encampments, and the church sustained considerable damage from artillery shelling. After the war the badly damaged Stone Church was little used. In 1881 money was raised to make the considerable repairs and the Stone Church continued to serve the community through the first half of the next century.
In 1952 a new brick church was built next to the Stone Church, and in 1958, when the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Churches united to form the United Church of Christ, Bethlehem Church became “Bethlehem United Church of Christ.”
The Stone Church was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1981 and in 2008 the congregation, the community and friends, joined together to enable complete restoration to both the exterior and the interior of the Old Stone Church. The restoration was completed in 2011.
Check out, Stained Glass Windows of the Shenandoah Valley, featuring our very own Bethlehem Church: