1720 – A land area designated as “St. George’s Parish” is established by the House of Burgesses of Colonial Virginia. Eight years later, an act of the Assembly founded the City of Fredericksburg.
1732 – Plans are made and work begun on the Rappahannock Church within the parish on this site (later changing its name to St. George’s Church) to serve the residents of the frontier port city.
1735– Construction of first St. George’s church is complete sexton is paid. Rev. McGuire preaches a centennial sermon commemorating this fact in 1835
1756 – Colonel Dandridge, George Washington’s father-in-law, is buried in a tomb close to the church building near the bottom of the cemetery.
1772 Sale of 1/2 acre behind the church to Caroline Street since the land was unsuitable for graves. Proceeds were lost!
1774 – William Paul is buried in a grave close to Faulkner Hall just inside the front gate and to the left.
1774– Levy of 100 pounds to pay Fielding Lewis for 4 lots to build a new church. 10,000 pounds of tobacco allocated to begin the project but war years ended this effort
1776 – With American independence, the church-state ties are dissolved. Quenzel, Page 17
1789 – St. George’s joins the new Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States.
1813 – Edward McGuire, age 20, becomes minister to the congregation with membership of “less than 12.” Ordained in 1814, he served as rector for 45 years.
1815 – A new brick building replaces the old wood structure at a cost of $11,000.
1823 – Faulkner Hall is erected as a Sunday school room
1851 – St. George’s houses the city clock
1854 – The side galleries are added during the repair following the July 19th fire. The town clock is installed in this decade.
1858 – The Reverend Mr. McGuire dies after 45 years as rector.
1858 – McNeeley Bell arrives
1859 – On July 3rd, Bishop Phillips Brooks, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” preached his first sermon in this church.
1862 – The church is hit by shell fire at least 25 times during the Battle of Fredericksburg in the War Between the States. The 4-piece communion set is stolen; one piece is retrieved almost immediately.
1862 – 1931 The Silver Story
1863 – Religious revival meetings are held in the church by General Lee’s troops.
1864 – The church is used as a hospital for some of the 10,000 Union soldiers injured in the Battle of the Wilderness.
1885 – The “Ascension of Christ” window above the altar on the east wall is installed in honor of The Reverend Mr. McGuire. It was made in Heidelberg, GE.
1890s – A brass lectern and pulpit are installed in the chancel. The eagle shape is the symbol of St. John the Evangelist.
1875 – A new organ is purchased with funds raised by the women of the church, with the old organ as partial payment. It is built by Henry Erben of New York, and placed in the rear gallery.
1907 – The “Mary Ball Washington” window is installed, a gift of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mary Ball Chapter. It depicts Deborah pleading with Barak to lead the Israelites against Sisera. It is done in the medieval style, with very small pieces of glass by Colgate Art Glass of New York.
1912 – The first of the Tiffany signed windows (#8 on left), “Christ on the Road to Emmaus” (Luke 24), arrives. This is the one which appears as a single unit from the main floor to the top of the gallery.
1914 – A second Tiffany window (#2, “Angel in the Field of Lilies”) is set in place.
1917– A third Tiffany window (#4, “Angel of Victory” or “Guardian Angel of Medical Science”) is given in honor of a local doctor.
1925 – The organ and choir are moved to the new chancel
1943 – The “Nativity Scene” (window #5), by Wilbur Burnham, is designed in a 12th and 13th Century style. At the gallery level the window depicts the “Majesty of Christ.”
1947-1950 – Major repairs to the steeple are performed
1950 – New chests, a trumpet stop, and chimes are added to the organ. A rededication is held, commemorating the men and women who served in World War II.
1951 – Quenzel’s History of St. George’s is published
1954 – Faulkner confronts the Vestry on race
1959 – McGuire Hall is built to house the Sunday School. This 3-level addition links the Parish Hall with the main church building.
1968 – Avis Harris become first females vestry member
1975-1978 – Kneelers are added to the church
1977-1981 – St. George’s launches a $200,000 restoration drive to preserve the historic church building and to conserve and protect the stained glass windows.
1983 – 1984 – Four pipe organs are purchased from Mary Washington College and installed in the rear gallery. The remainder is used in the rebuilding of the Chancel Organ (1985-1986).
1989 – Creating the commission system
1992 – The kitchen is completely renovated with funds raised by St. George’s Episcopal Church Women (ECW).
1994 – Project “Aim 2000” is launched for a major restoration and rebuilding of the church. Work was completed in time to close out the 20th Century.
2000 – Reredos returns
2002 – All Saints Day: 18th Century skeletal remains of three men, two women, and one teenage boy, unearthed the year before in the renovation of Market Square, are reburied in the Church Cemetery using the 1690 Anglican Prayer Book, reciting the prayers in Elizabethan English.
2003 – Charles Sydnor retires as rector
2003 – A Nave Renovation Task Force is established to work with an architect to recommend changes to restore the nave and enhance the worship space. In 2004, Mr. Jim Wollon, an architect from Baltimore, Maryland is chosen.
2004 – Jim Dannals becomes rector and serves until 2013
2007 – Nave renovation begins with the beginning of the creation of the sprinkler system in the Family Room and installation of steel to support the original flooring
2008-2009 – The Church was closed in January, 2008 for renovation, the largest and most significant since 1849. The organ is removed. Worship was in the Family Room until the Nave reopened on April 26, 2009.
2008– Celtic service begins
2010 – New Parsons Organ was installed in December, 2010.
2011 – First mission trip to Haiti
2011 -Earthquake! 2011 – On August 23, 2011, we were one of the many communities in Virginia affected by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Mineral, Virginia.
2011 – Preschool begins
2011– The Table Ministry Begins
2012 – Creation of the “Girls Group” which became “Youth in Global”
2012-2014 Kitchen renovation
2013 – Service of Remembrance to Hope with the Diocese of Virginia