Landownership
A Plat Map shows the location and landowner of all property purchased by the government. The Plat Map data shows the Parcel ID, property owner and price paid for the property.(Plat Map and Plat Map Data are on file at A.P. Hill). You will notice the last column reads Pur/Con, which indicates if the land was Purchased (Pur) or Contested (Con). Landowner who contested the purchase of their property did not want to sell and the dispute was decided by the courts. A review of the deeds in the courthouse is necessary to determine the outcome.
The following links contain information on plantations/farms that were located in the area. The documents were obtained from the Fort A.P. Hill Environmental Office :
Churches
The following table contains information on the churches that were located on the property that became A.P. Hill. The first two columns were taken directly from a document I obtained from the Fort A.P. Hill Environmental Office titled Churches at One Time on the Reservations (Fraternal Bldgs Incl). The person who provided me the document did not know the author or the source (the information appears to be a chapter from a book). (NOTE: Please remember when reading this document that any personal references or commentary is from the author, not me.)
The cemetery column indicates if a cemetery was located on the property. The ‘Before’ hyperlink contains the pages from the document listing the location of the graves before the church and cemetery were moved. The ‘After’ hyperlink contains the pages listing the location of the graves after they were moved. If the this column is blank, the church was not listed in the document of graves moved.
I also obtained other documents from the Fort A.P. Hill Environmental Office regarding some of the churches that were on the property. These documents may be viewed by clicking on the church name hyperlink.
| Church | Description | Cemetery |
| Apostolic Tabernacle (white) | This as a church of the “holiness” faith and the property is listed in Caroline County Deed Book under the name of Phil U. Reynolds. This church was located at the boundary corner on Rt 631 at a point .4 mile east of R.J. 631 and Rt 2 at Farmers.
The tract number, at time of transfer, was 686, index B-5, acreage 1.5, located on the Real Estate Map, sheet 3 of 7. |
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| Apostolic Tabernacle | Another meeting place of the “holiness” faith. This meeting house was located on the northeast side of Rt 619 at a point approximately ½ mile west of Brandywine. This property was under private ownership at the time of the property transfer. | |
| Bethesda Baptist (white) | This church, or brick construction, was one of the older churches located on the reservation. It was located on Rt 614 at a point .9 mile easterly of R.J. 614 and Engineer Road. Description is: one single room about 30’x 50′, no basement, about five windows to the side, fan light over front door and larger fan light over rear center. See tract map page 2 of 7, tract 326, index B-7. Acreage includes burial ground – total 8.8 acres.
Trustees were: R. A. Bullock, J. W. Garrett and G. W. Sale. (Removed 1950) |
Before After |
| Bethlehem Baptist (colored) |
This church was of frame construction and was located on Rt 614 Baptist a t a point .2 mile northeast of Engineer Road and east of the point where a well defmed trail leads off in a northerly direction. This building was removed about 1948-49. See page 2 of 7, tract 106, index A -9.
Trustees: Henry Brown, Silas Ellis, Eugene Scott and Harry Ferguson. |
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| Liberty Baptist (white) | This building, erected in 1850, is now the Post Chapel. The building is of brick construction similar to that of the Bethesda Church. Liberty has two front doors and two rear doors. Where Bethesda Church had a gallery in the rear only, Liberty Church has a gallery running along both sides and the rear also. This gallery is about 8′ wide and supported by pillars. The church is located on Rt 616 at a point about .2 mile southeast of Liberty Corner. Acreage, including burial ground, 5.5 acres. See tract map page 1 of 7, index H-10. Trustees were: E.T. Vaughan, Onan E. Taylor and F. E. Bowie. |
Before After |
| Mica Council Lodge No. 1057 |
See tract no. 363, page no. 2 on tract map. | |
| Mt. Dew Baptist (colored) |
This church was not located on the reservation; however, very few people other than myself, no living, know otherwise. This church as located beside the Mt. Dew Colored School on a part of State Rt 614 now abandoned. It was located at a point about 1/2 mile south east of R.J. 615 and 614. At this point the poet boundary deviates from its line along old Rt 614 and goes around the plot of ground that was at one time occupied by the church and school.
The church and school were destroyed by military personnel under the direction of their officers who erroneously assumed the property had been acquired by the U.S. Government. The destruction of the church took place in 1944 and the pastor received a check from the Post Commander, Lt. Colonel Elmer F. Munshower, shortly after the building was destroyed. (If I remember correctly, it was in the amount of $900. This the preacher promptly pocketed and departed to a more southerly climate where it was more to his liking. One of the surviving trustees of the church, Major Chambers, told me that he hoped that in due time the Reverend would end up in a much hotter locality than North Carolina.) Trustees were: Washington Jackson, Ray Robinson, John Price and Major Chambers, who was the last surviving trustee. |
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| Mt. Olive (colored) |
This church was of frame construction and located at R.J. 616 and 618 (now Monroe Corner). The deed was transferred by trustee as vendor.
See plat map page 4 of 7, tract 288, index F-3, acres 2.3. |
Before After |
| Rappahannock Liberty (colored) | Located on the south side of U.S. Rt 17 at a point about 1 mile west of the southeast boundary corner. The church was of Baptist faith. See tract map page 7 of 7, index J-6, tract no. 1212, acres 1. Transfer was by trustee as vendor. |
Before After |
| St. Paul (colored) | Located at Delos Corner on Rt 623.
See tract map page 4 of 7, tract no. 47, index A-9, acres 1.6. |
Before After |
| Union Baptist (or Free Mission) |
Located on Rt 622 at a point west of Martins Corner about .4 mile from R. J. 622-618.
See tract map page 6 of 7, tract no. 370, index F-4, acres 1.0. |
Before After |
| Upper Zion (white) | Located on Rt 608 at its intersection with Rt 622 from the east. This church was of brick construction and removed about 1945 (German prisoner labor).
See tract map page 6 of 7, index A-4, tract 341. The transferred acreage (4.6 acres) included an extensive burial ground with a goodly portion across Rt 622 from the church. Transferred by trustees. |
Before After |
| Zora (white) | This building of frame construction was located an the south side of Rt 618 at a point about 1.3 miles west of Rollins Fork, near the hamlet of Lent.
See tract map page 4 of 7, tract no. 286, index H-5, 1 acre. Transfer by trustees – McKinney Williams, trustee vendor. |
Before After |
| St. Mary’s Episcopal |
This church had disappeared about the turn of the century and the building had not been used for religious purposes for almost 150 years. Saint Mary’s was erected about 1700 and flourished for about 75 years as a church and also a school attended by the children of the local gentry. Shortly after the Revoluntionary War the church was turned into an academy that gave its name to that locality – that name is in use today: Rappahannock Academy. (See the history of Camp A. P. Hill for further information) |
