“The Winston Family Chapel” with Cemetery now Abandoned Winston, VA

Malcolm Boddie Winston was the oldest son of Lucien and Elizabeth M. Winston. In 1905 he began attending the University of Virginia. He was noted as scholar and an athlete, playing on the school baseball and football teams. This well talented young man also performed in Shakespearean plays. Then suddenly he contracted scarlet fever and on December 27, 1906 he passed away. It was to honor him that his father had Winston Chapel built as a memorial to Malcolm.

Winston Chapel was built in 1908 as a memorial to the son of Lucien D. Winston Sr. and his wife Elizabeth McNeil Boddie. In 1907 Lucien donated land for Rising Zion Church and school which is just down the road from Winston Chapel. On their property, the couple built the Winston Memorial Chapel, dedicated in 1909 to the memory of their son, Malcolm Boddie Winston, who died in 1906 from scarlet fever at 22 years old.

The brownstone chapel, built around 1908, has been unused for many years and is falling into disrepair. The chapel was constructed around 1908 by the patriarch of the Winston family, who apparently was quite wealthy. On his passing his will allocated the ownership, care, and maintenance of the chapel to the Winston family decedents. Apparently, however, the Winstons were at odds with another local family, the Somervilles. The Somervilles constructed their own church in Mitchells, also in Culpeper County (and apparently still standing today).

As time went on, the families remained at odds, with the exception of two young lovers who, as you may have guessed, ended up getting married, linking the two families. As time passed, the Winston family members have all passed away, and through inheritance, all assets (including the chapel) ended up in the hands of the Somerville family. And that is where is stands, as is, today.