The Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill, in the historic community of Brook Hill in

Henrico County, Virginia Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

, is a historic Episcopal church.

History

Brothers John and Daniel Kerr Stewart, both born on the

Island of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

in Scotland, emigrated and established a farm at Brook Hill. Although they had been members of

Monumental Church Monumental Church is a former Episcopal church at 1224 E. Broad Street between N. 12th and College streets in Richmond, Virginia. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it is one of America's earliest and most distinctive Greek Revival churches. I ...

and then St. Paul's Church, both in downtown

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, their property was on the city's outskirts. The early Brook turnpike between Richmond and Dabney Williamson's Tavern had become a major thoroughfare during the American Revolution. Between 1859 and 1860, the Stewart brothers supported creation of a new parish near their farm, which was organized in 1860. Bishop

John Johns John Johns (July 10, 1796 – April 5, 1876) was the fourth Episcopal bishop of Virginia. He led his diocese into secession and during the American Civil War and later tried to heal it through the Reconstruction Era. Johns also served as Presi ...

consecrated the building on July 6, 1860. The mission church's first rector was Rev. Richard Hooker Wilmer, a friend of John Stewart and future Confederate Bishop (elected to the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama in 1862, and who ultimately would be interred in this church's graveyard). During the American Civil War, troops often traveled on Brook Road, almost in front of this church. Both armies at various times occupied the building, often using it as a hospital. Nearby Virginia historical markers describe Sheridan's maneuvers in 1864, Richmond's outer defenses on the road, and the renaming of the entire road between Petersburg and Alexandria Virginia as

Jefferson Davis Highway The Jefferson Davis Highway, also known as the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, was a planned transcontinental highway in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s that began in Arlington, Virginia, and extended south and west to San Diego, Cal ...

between 1913 and 1947. The church built a school in 1910, and a parish hall in the 1950s. The parish has also been known for its social activism. John Stewart's daughter Marian, who married

George William Peterkin George William Peterkin (March 21, 1841 – September 22, 1916) was the first Bishop of West Virginia in the Episcopal Church in the United States. Early life Born in Clear Spring, Washington County, Maryland as first child of Rev. Joshua Pe ...

(who became the first

Bishop of West Virginia The Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (TEC). It encompasses all 55 counties of West Virginia. The diocese has 66 congregations, including 38 parishes, 26 missions, and 2 other c ...

), wrote about its mottos: "God is with us" and "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much". Virginia's seventh bishop,

William Cabell Brown William Cabell Brown (November 22, 1861 – July 25, 1927) was an Episcopal missionary in Brazil who returned to his native Virginia to become the seventh bishop of Virginia. Biography Early and family life William Cabell Brown was born in Nelso ...

, a former missionary in Brazil, is also interred in the graveyard. Immediately in front of the church, in addition to a historic marker concerning the church, is a marker commemorating artist and suffragette

Adele Goodman Clark Adele Goodman Clark (September 27, 1882 – June 4, 1983) was an American artist and suffragist. Early life Clark was born in 1882 in Montgomery, Alabama to Robert Clark, a railroad worker originally from Belfast, and Estelle Goodman Clark, a J ...

Architecture

The church and church school (built in 1910), as well as the cemetery were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2000. Rhode Island architect Clifton A. Hall designed the church. an
''Accompanying photo at Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, undated''
/ref> Richard Hooker Wilmer, the only

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

to be consecrated by the

Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America was an Anglican Christian denomination which existed from 1861 to 1865. It was formed by Southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States during the American Civ ...

, is buried in the church cemetery, as are many Confederate soldiers. Adèle Goodman Clark is also buried here.

References

External links

Emmanuel Episcopal Church at Brook Hill
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Gothic Revival church buildings in Virginia Churches completed in 1860 Churches in Henrico County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Henrico County, Virginia