One of the most attractive and appealing areas of Virginia is the Hunt Country of Northern Virginia. The gentle hills, the rolling dark green meadows, the horse farms, the stacked stone walls that stretch forever are mental images which remain with visitors. If someone takes the time to visit with the people and attend one of the several scattered Baptist churches of the area, a broader image is created of a friendly, caring and intellectually keen populace.
The Baptist folk of the Hunt Country are proud of their long history and rich heritage. Much of the struggle for religious liberty occurred in Fauquier County. In the mid-1700s Daniel Fristoe had his worship services interrupted by rowdies who felt that Baptist preachers were fair game for harassment. Richard Major, another Baptist preacher, felt the wrath of mobs and was “nearly pulled to pieces.” David Thomas, one of the most brilliant of the 18th century Virginia Baptist preachers, was “pulled down while preaching and dragged out” of the meeting. William Marshall was arrested for preaching. Neighboring Loudon County was the scene of the imprisonment of Samuel Harris who was one of the leading itinerant preachers.
As soon as Thomas Jefferson’s Act for Establishing Religious Freedom became law in January 1786, John Munroe, a
Fred Anderson
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physician-turned-minister, led in the constituting of a church to be known as Long Branch. It was at the half-way point between the farming crossroads known as The Plains and the market town of Middleburg. In 1820 a simple stone building was erected on a rise above the road at Halfway and it has remained ever after as a place of worship and a center of ministry.
Besides the quest for religious liberty, another chapter in Baptist history was lived by the early Baptists of the Hunt Country. Much of the struggle for missions occurred in the same territory. William F. Broaddus was a young man when he became pastor of Long Branch; and while pastor, he became a pivotal figure in what was known as the anti-missions controversy that nearly wrecked Virginia Baptists.
Some Baptists supported the concept of missions, a theology that was fanned in the early 1800s by the itinerant preaching of the missionary Luther Rice. Some Baptists opposed missions with their own theological interpretations. The controversy split churches and district associations. The “anti” element also opposed Sunday schools, temperance societies and benevolent organizations.
William F. Broaddus was identified with the pro-missions Baptists. He attended two district association meetings only to discover that the anti-missions crowd had gained control and they denied him a seat at the meetings. At one of these meetings, Broaddus took aside a detachment of the delegates who were interested in missions and delivered a powerful missions message. Long Branch withdrew from the association and joined several other pro-missions churches in a new association. Long Branch Baptists have been active supporters and participants in missions ever since.
Long Branch Baptist Church
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Robert Baylor Semple’s history of Virginia Baptists penned in 1810 did not have much to say about Long Branch. “Their course has not been marked by anything singular,” stated Virginia Baptists’ first historian in a too-honest review of the church’s first 25 years. If he were living, Semple might make the same observation on the church’s entire 225 years; but surely there is something to be said for constancy, faithfulness and caring day-by-day across so long a stretch of years.
In late September 2011 the people of Long Branch and their invited guests from several daughter churches gathered in their old meeting house both to celebrate the 225th anniversary and to observe their annual ritual of “homecoming.” It was a happy day! The building had been spruced-up, the thick grass mowed, tents erected and enough potted fall plants placed to create a garden party atmosphere in the churchyard. There was enough fried chicken on hand to feed 125 people and the church was packed, which is unusual in these days. At least the ground floor was closely occupied. No one chose to sit in the gallery.
The choir of Middleburg Baptist Church provided music fit for an old meeting house. The two churches have a long history in which for most of their years they shared a pastor. There were friends present from Antioch, one of the several daughter churches, and from the First Baptist Church of The Plains, an African-American church which was formed by the many blacks who were members of Long Branch “before the War.” There was an easy familiarity among all those present. Frank Fishback has been serving the church as pastor for the last two years. A bi-vocational minister, he generously gives himself to the folks of Fauquier. For the special day the pastor was easily identified by his bright red vest.
Charles — also known as Chris — Cross is a deacon of Long Branch and he and his wife, Joanne, were among the members who provided the heavy lifting for Homecoming. Cross donned a Colonial-style wig and portrayed John Munroe, telling about the founding period of the church. This columnist also appeared in the service as his favorite 19th-century character, William E. Hatcher, who once held a protracted meeting at Long Branch; and I told about the pastors and people whom Hatcher would have known, including the remarkable Wayland F. Dunaway, who had a lengthy pastorate from 1881-1900.
In 1886 Dunaway wrote a history of Long Branch which revealed the effect of the Civil War upon the congregation at Halfway.
“The traces of that unhappy conflict appear in the minutes of the church,” wrote Dunaway. “The first mention is a resolution to observe a day of fasting and prayer [in 1861]. In July a collection was taken up for the special object of furnishing soldiers with tracts and copies of the Scriptures.
“The following are the minutes of October 15th, 1864: ‘No preaching or public service of any kind; only one member present beside the clerk; doors closed; our pastor a prisoner, and a gloom pervading the community in consequence of the oppression of the enemy.’ ”
Long Branch survived the war; and there have been many other major events in the interval. In Semple’s words from 1810, the church’s history may not have been marked by “anything singular” but certainly there has been a heap ‘o living at Halfway.
Fred Anderson ([email protected]) is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies, P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.