St. George’s History comprises individual articles, documents and collections around the 300 year history of St. George’s Episcopal Church, located in Fredericksburg Virginia. This site is unrelated to St. George's main website.
Supplementing them are a category-based search, a content index and a timeline. We have two tour documents - a building summary and a 15 minute walking tour you can take in the church.
If this is your first visit, check out the 2 tours - building summary and a 15 minute walking tour.
Recent articles
Those Benches!
In 1879, the Reverend Robert McBryde was rector of St. Georges. It was two years after reconstruction had ended in the south. A South Carolinian by birth, he had served in the Confederate Army. The Church had been undergoing an upheaval. Two years before 50 communicants opposed to the previous rector’s resignation formed Trinity Church … Read more
A Sunday School Lesson on Rev. Edward McGuire – Trip Wiggins
Editor’s note – Trip Wiggins is St. George’s archivist Rev. Edward Charles McGuire. What do we know about him? Longest serving Rector of St. George’s (45+ years) Only Rector buried in our churchyard McGuire Hall named after him We have a nice portrait of him and his wife in McGuire Hall Was Rector when current … Read more
McGuire Hall Dedication, May 3, 1959
Thanks to Vicki Harrison for donating the follow program from the event : [pdf-embedder url=”http://history.churchsp.org/wp-content/uploads/McGuireHallDedicationService19590503.pdf”]
The McGuire Hall Story
♦Address delivered by Carrol H. Quenzel, Senior Warden and Historiographer, at the Dedication of McGuire Hall, St. George’s Episcopal Church, on Sunday afternoon, May 3, 1959. Just who was the first teacher or pupil to voice dissatisfaction with the results of simultaneously conductmg fourteen Church School classes in one large room partitioned primarily by curtains … Read more
St. George’s Service Flag, 1918
Courtesy of Fredericksburg.com 20 November 2006 By CATHY DYSON http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/dhknox.htm “As an intern for the National Park Service, Kati Singel uncovered a mystery when she was working on one of those glamorous projects interns tend to get. “Singel was doing inventory in the basement of the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center. She was supposed to make … Read more
Robert Cary Long, Architect of St. George’s
This is a selection of a master’s thesis on Long. Copy is in the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. [pdf-embedder url=”http://history.churchsp.org/wp-content/uploads/architectureofrobertcarylong.pdf”]
The Stormy Beginnings of Faulkner Hall
Many people don’t realize that Faulkner Hall was an addition to the church made during the period of the 2nd church (1815-1848). The inside has been remodeled, the latest in 1999 with Aim 2000. The outside has changed – from a Dutch design evident in pictures early in the 20th century to today’s design. Since … Read more
The Female Charity School
Charity schools represented a movement that began in England at the end of the 17th century and spread throughout the next century. It was a movement that preceded universal education and it stressed education for the poor. In England it was a reaction to urbanization and rising population. It began with parishes and voluntary contributions … Read more
Ghosts of St. George’s -“The Gentle Ghost”
This ghost was described by L. B. Taylor in his book The Ghosts of Fredericksburg as the “Gentle Ghost”. Based on his account and Margaret Dupont’s Virginia’s Ghosts this ghost preferred not to deal with people as opposed to other ghosts. It is 1858 and it is the current church. Ella McCarty (great grandmother of … Read more
1. Carrol Quenzel's History of St. George's
Quenzel's 1951 history is still the standard for the church. He was a librarian for Mary Washington College as well as being active at St. George's, helping to create the St. Georgian newsletter as well as a part of the Vestry. We have the entire book online which was published by St. George's
2. The Three Churches of St. George's - Barbara Willis
Barbara Willis was a local historian and writer and long time St. Georgian with her husband Mac. This paper is a detailed summary of the evolution of St. George's church from its wooden colonial church to the impressive 1849 brick building we have today.
The Civil War may be the most popular historic topic in all of our history. The church served in 3 capacities - as a fortress, center of revival and as a hospital. We have a 9 part series on our role and relationship to Fredericksburg.
McGuire served all 3 churches over the course of 45 years. He is probably the most influential of all our rectors in all phases of ministry from preaching, teaching, and outreach. Trip Wiggins, our archivist, wrote this for a Sunday school class and has been teaching classes for years
5. Charles Syndor on Social Policy
Charles Sydnor served St. George's from 1972-2003 and was responsible for furthering Thomas Faulkner's outreach ministries and creating new ones. This paper he wrote in 2009 was for an adult forum in that year.
6. Tom Faulkner confronts the Vestry on race
Faulkner served St. George's for 30 years from 1946-1976. During these years racial policies were paramount, especially 1954, in the year of Brown vs. Board of Education, Faulkner was challenged by the Vestry on the role of Blacks in our service. He was able to move St. George's toward racial justice that other rectors would further
