my hometown, daily photo six

Jerusalem Baptist Church (formerly Old Payne’s Church), Fairfax, Virginia

Happy Independence Day!!

I’ve been having a wonderful time seeing everyone’s hometowns this week, a great way to say "Happy Birthday" to the USA. Thank you, Cindy, for initiating this challenge! As Anne Marie Pace said yesterday, this experience has also given us the incentive to appreciate what’s in our own back yards.

Take this little white church, for example. We pass it every time we visit our friends, who’ve invited us over for a yummy barbecue today. I’ve always loved how small and quaint it is, but never knew much about it.

Payne’s Church dates back to 1768, was originally made of brick, and owned by the Church of England (Episcopal), until after the Revolutionary War. Colonel George Washington and Truro Parish authorized its construction. In 1840, Jersusalem Baptist Church began to meet here until the outbreak of the Civil War. When Confederate forces occupied the region, they briefly used the church as a hospital. Then Union forces took over, and they tore down the church to use the bricks to build winter quarters. After the war was over, Jersalem Baptist Church needed a meeting place, so they built the small white frame structure we see today.

It only took me 25+ years to learn all this. Thanks to Cindy, I didn’t just drive by, but stopped, peeked in the windows, read the plaque by the front door, and took this photo. The church means something to me now.

Be sure to check out all the other hometowns listed at Cindy’s blog!

10 thoughts on “my hometown, daily photo six”

As Paul would say to Martha
“Take a good look around you
Take a good look you’re bound to see…”
Yes, this has been an interesting little tour of everyone’s “home-towns!”

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