Emmanuel Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal church located on the west side of U.S. Route 301, just north of the Rappahannock River in Port Conway, Virginia, in the United States. Emmanuel Church and its historic graveyard are located in front of Belle Grove. In 1751, future President James Madison was born at Belle Grove, the childhood home of his mother, Eleanor Rose “Nelly” Conway. On January 7, 1987, Emmanuel Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The pipe organ, built by Henry Erben, is original to the building and is in continual use during services.
The historic graveyard contains burials of prominent local families, including the Turners, Hipkins, Bernards, and Pratts. The cemetery at Emmanuel Episcopal Church is closely tied to the residents of the neighboring Belle Grove Plantation and other prominent families of King George County. While the church was consecrated in 1860, the graveyard contains burials reflecting the multi-generational history of the area.
- The Hipkins and Bernard Families: These families are precursors to the Turner era at Belle Grove.
- Sarah “Sallie” Bernard Lightfoot: Daughter of Frances “Fannie” Hipkins Bernard (for whom the current Belle Grove mansion was built), she is buried at Emmanuel.
- Anna August Rose (d. 1853): The mother of Susan Turner, her grave is located directly in front of Carolinus Turner’s.
- The Hooker Family: More contemporary owners of Belle Grove (1930–1981), John and Mary Hooker, have family gravesites in the cemetery.
- The Turner Family: Carolinus Turner, who donated the land for the church, is buried here. (d. 1876): Married Susan Rose Turner; he is buried at Emmanuel, though his wife’s burial location is less certain.
- Anna Turner Robb: Daughter of Carolinus, she married Captain Robert L. Robb. Their son, Carolinus Turner Robb, is also interred at the church.
- George Turner: Another son of Carolinus, he and his wife Jane Murphy McGuire are buried here along with several of their nine children, including Edward McGuire Turner and Susan Rose Carter Turner Mitchell.
- Caroline “Carrie” M. Turner: Known for an etching in the window of the Belle Grove Turner room, she is buried here alongside her husband, Dr. William Jett.
- James Madison Memorial: While President Madison is buried at Montpelier, a granite monument dedicated to him stands in the church cemetery to honor his birth at Port Conway.
The Henry Erben pipe organ at Emmanuel Episcopal Church is one of the most historically significant musical instruments in Virginia. Built by the renowned New York organ builder Henry Erben (1800–1884), it is original to the church’s construction and has been in continuous use since the building was consecrated in 1860. The organ is one of the rare mid-19th-century pipe organs in America that remains intact and functioning within its original setting. While Erben built over 800 organs, many in larger cathedrals were replaced over time. The instrument at Emmanuel survives as a “diminutive” but superb example of his work for smaller country parishes.
The organ is central to a popular local legend regarding the church’s survival during the Civil War. In 1862, when Federal soldiers occupied Port Conway, they reportedly intended to dismantle or destroy the church. According to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, a Union soldier began playing the Erben organ and was so moved by its sound that he persuaded his fellow soldiers to spare the building from destruction. It serves as a primary reason for the church’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Built in 1859-1860, the church features a unique blend of a Gothic nave with an Italianate tower. During the Civil War, the church was occupied by both Federal and Confederate troops, and used as a stable, but was spared destruction when a Union soldier began playing the church’s Henry Erben pipe organ and felt so moved that he convinced his comrades not to destroy the building.. It was restored in the post-war period with help from the Friends of the Episcopal Church in the North.
The following information is taken from the National Register of Historic Places—Nomination Form
Summary Description
Enmanuel Church Is located off US Route 301 In King George County. The small, one-story, brick church was erected in 1859-60 in the Gothic Revival style. It has undergone minimal alteration. The nomination consists of one contributing building, the church, set within a fenced churchyard.
Statement of Significance
Emmanuel Church at Port Conway on the Rappahannock River in King George County is significant as a member of Virginia’s small but important collection of Gothic Revival-style country churches. While such churches were popular in the North where the Gothic Revival flourished, the style was rarely adopted by Virginians for their rural churches. Completed in 1859-60 and attributed on the basis of architectural evidence alone to the Baltimore architects Niernsee and Neilson, the church features excellent proportions, fine detailing, and an imposing tower which bears a stylistic comparison with Martin’s Brandon-Church, Prince George County, also attributed to Niernsee and Neilson. Although damaged during the Civil War, the church interior retains its original gallery and a Henry Erban organ that dates to the third quarter of the 19th century. The building is a familiar landmark to motorists crossing the Rappahannock River between Port Royal and Port Conway along U. S. 301.
Historical Background
The town of Port Conway was established in 1784 at the site of the Rappahannock ferry crossing from Port Royal. To attend church Port Conway residents had to take the ferry south to St. Peter’s Church, Port Royal or travel to St. Paul’s at Owens or after 1843 to St. John’s Church, King George Court House. To end this inconvenience, Comelius Tumer (1812-1876) of Belle Grove donated plantation land for use as a church site.
Belle Grove itself was part of a land grant dating from the l660s, the decade in which Governor Berkeley granted Thomas Chetwood and John Prosser 5,274 acres as consideration for transporting 100 persons to the colony. Less than three years after acquiring the tract, Prosser sold 1,000 acres to Anthony Sevedge. That portion of the tract then passed from the Conway family (1720-90) to the Bernard family (1790-1839) to the Turners (1839-93). George Washington was a frequent visitor to Belle Grove, and in 1751 the plantation became the birthplace of James Madison.
Emmanuel Church, Port Conway, was constructed 1859-60 and consecrated on July 2, 1860 by Bishop Johns. Unfortunately, the name of the architect is not recorded; however, on the basis of the design and the date, the church may be attributed to the Baltimore architectural firm of Niernsee and Neilson. The firm was responsible for building other churches in the Gothic style in Virginia which share similar design details with Emmanuel Church.
J. Crawford Neilson and John R. Niernsee practiced architecture in Baltimore. Neilson was born in that city in 1817 and studied civil engineering in Brussels, Belgium and subsequently practiced his profession in the United States, entering into a partnership with Niernsee in 1848. Niernsee came to Baltimore from Vienna, Austria, where he had attended the Vienna Polytechnic.
In Virginia the architects are thought to be associated with the design of two Episcopal churches: St. Paul’s Church, Petersburg of 1855-57 and Martin’s Brandon Church, Prince George County of 1855-56. St. Paul’s is documented in the church vestry records as the work of Neilson and Niernsee. A Gothic Revival-style edifice, St. Paul’s is among the most elaborate antebellum churches in Petersburg. Martin’s Brandon is a country church also attributed to Neilson and Niernsee. While predominantly Italianate in style, Martin’s Brandon Church, like Emmanuel, features a tall tower distinguished by an unusual flaring pyramidal roof. The design of the two church roofs suggests the same hand. Martin’s Brandon Church is, of course, larger than Emmanuel. However, both churches have excellent proportions and fine detailing. The location of Emmanuel on the Northem Neck makes the attribution to Neilson and Niernsee more probable. During the 19th century, the proximity of the area to Baltimore exerted a marked influence on Northem Neck architecture. Baltimore is also known to have provided the Northem Neck with building components. It is therefore not surprising to learn that a Baltimore architectural firm may have designed a small country church for a Northern Neck congregation.
In 1861, the Rev. Alexander Shiras was rector of both St. John’s Church, King George Court House and Emmanuel Church. He reported in 1862: “The war has borne somewhat heavily upon the Parish (Hanover Parish), scattering its families, carrying off its young men, and almost dissolving the congregation. Regular services were steadily kept up, and others held for the soldiers occasionally stationed in the neighborhood.” 1
The Rev. Henry Wall, who became the rector of Hanover Parish, King George County, in September, 1865, reported: “Emmanuel Church at Port Conway was now fit for occupation. It has been repaired by aid of the liberality of kind friends of the Church in Baltimore & New York, and by many personal friends of the subscriber in Alexandria.”2
Ultimately, the church recovered from the war and has continued to serve the citizens of Port Conway to this day. The church retains its original interior gallery and its Henry Erban organ. The organ has a Gothic Revival-style case and dates to the third quarter of the 19th century.