Morgan Chapel and Graveyard – also known as Christ Episcopal Church-Bunker Hill – is a historic church in Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It is the oldest Episcopal church congregation in West Virginia. Morgan Chapel West Virginia rear view

In 1741

Morgan Morgan Colonel Morgan Morgan (November 1, 1688 — November 17, 1766) was an American pioneer. He was thought to have founded the first permanent settlement in present-day West Virginia at Cool Spring Farm. Biography Early life Little direct evidence ...

, one of West Virginia's earliest settlers, built the original log church on this site, about halfway between his cabin and the mill. Soon a cemetery was established. The current

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

building was constructed in 1851.

I, II, III, and IV are all buried in the church cemetery, although the historic marker for Morgan Morgan is over a mile away near the town center and mill. Morgan Morgan's descendants later founded

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

. Also buried in the graveyard is noted American portrait artist

John Drinker John Drinker (March 12, 1760 – February 16, 1826) was an American portrait artist. Biography Drinker was born on March 12, 1760, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were John Drinker (1716–1787) and Susanna Allen Drinker (1721–1787). ...

(1760–1826), a Quaker who may have been a conductor on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

along with his wife Elizabeth and whose former house is also on the National Register of Historic Places. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, both Union and Confederate troops encamped nearby and some in the chapel, as shown by recently uncovered graffiti. The diocese is currently seeking funds for further restoration. The closest local Episcopal parish is now Grace Episcopal Church in Middleway, West Virginia, several miles eastward on the Middleway Pike. Until recently, that parish had used this chapel for at least one worship service each year (in September); other denominations and special events occasionally used it until the restoration commenced. Morgan Chapel 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 1984,

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Churches in Berkeley County, West Virginia Episcopal churches in West Virginia Greek Revival church buildings in West Virginia Morgan family of West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley County, West Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Churches completed in 1851 Colonial architecture in West Virginia 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Anglican cemeteries in the United States

See also

References

External links