Mangohick Church, now also known as Mangohick

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Church, is a historic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in the community of Mangohick,

King William County King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater R ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. One of two colonial-era churches still surviving in the current county, it was constructed in 1730 at the headwaters of Mangohick Creek, a tributary of the Pamunkey River. It was 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 1972.

History

During the western expansion of English settlement in Virginia, St. Margaret's Parish was established in 1720 to serve the upriver area between the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers of then-vast King William County, thus splitting St. John's parish. Mangohick church was built circa 1730 as a chapel of ease for people living between the existing parishes, first located near the respective county courthouses. Bricks shipped from England were reportedly used to construct it. In 1742, the Virginia General Assembly limited St. Margaret's parish to Caroline County, and in 1744 established St. David's parish near the port of Aylett to serve the western area of King William county (whose boundaries ceased changing). Mangohick then became a chapel of east for St. David's parish. After Virginia's disestablishment of the Anglican Church (which had become the Episcopal Church following the Revolutionary War), Mangohick became a "free church", used by various denominations. Before the Civil War, the three colonial churches in Caroline County, as well as St. David's church fell into disrepair, and were replaced by clapboard wooden churches, with St. Margaret's Church at

Ruther Glen, Virginia Ruther Glen is an unincorporated community in Caroline County, Virginia, located near the interchange between Interstate 95 and Virginia State Highway 207, at (37.938782, -77.471466). The ZIP Code for Ruther Glen is 22546 It is approximately n ...

also eventually also becoming a Baptist congregation in modern times before returning to disuse. During the Civil War, General Grant pitched his tent near the church, on May 27, 1864, as he maneuvered South and East of General Lee in the prelude to the Battle of Cold Harbor. The Union Baptist Church was formed at this location, and had both white and black members, but by 1920 the congregation was Black.

Architecture

The one-story, rectangular brick building has a steep gable roof and measures 61 feet by 21 feet. The bricks were laid in English bond style below the water table, and Flemish bond style below the water table. The interior features a raised chancel and single pulpit. The tongue-and grove boards have been dated to the late 19th century, and the rear addition of church offices is modern.NRIS section 7

References

External links

Mangohick Baptist Church, State Route 638, Mangohick, King William County, VA
1 photo at

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Baptist churches in Virginia Churches completed in 1730 Buildings and structures in King William County, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in King William County, Virginia 18th-century Baptist churches in the United States 1730 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Brick buildings and structures in Virginia {{Virginia-church-stub