Hanover Meeting House
About this property
The Polegreen Church, also known as the Hanover Meeting House (and locally as the "ghost church"), is the site of what may be the first non-Anglican church in Virginia. It was named after a 17th-century landowner, George Polegreen. After Rev. George Whitefield preached at Bruton Parish Church at Williamsburg during the First Great Awakening, and his sermons were published, local mason Samuel Morris built a reading room or log cabin near Mechanicsville in rural Hanover County. In 1743, Virginia's colonial assembly permitted religious dissenters four meeting houses: three in Hanover County (including this one) and one in Henrico County; they were sometimes called "Morris churches". Pennsylvania Presbyterian missionary Samuel Davies, one of the first non-Anglican ministers licensed in Virginia, evangelized in Hanover County and used this as his base from 1743 to 1759. Patrick Henry attended services here with his mother, and credited Davies for his oratorical skills. In 1755, Davies helped organize what came to be known as the Hanover Presbytery, encompassing all Presbyterian ministers in Virginia and North Carolina. He also became known for writing hymns, and for educating slaves (unlike Methodist and Baptist evangelists). During the American Civil War, battle lines formed on opposite sides of Totopotomoy creek during the 1864 Overland Campaign as the Union army advanced on Richmond. Polegreen Church stood between them. A Confederate artillery shell fired to dislodge Union sharpshooters by a man whose father had been baptized at Polegreen hit the wooden building, which burned to the ground. The congregation could not afford to rebuild it. An open-air design of steel beams painted white to show the historic structure's former dimensions has been erected at the site, along with a visitor center and signage concerning religious persecution and freedom in Western civilization. The site now hosts various lectures (including on religious freedom in Virginia), as well as weddings and other private functions. The Polegreen Church site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It is open to the public free of charge.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Hanover Meeting House
This page lists Hanover Meeting House. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Hanover Meeting House listed on the National Register?
Hanover Meeting House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1991.
What type of historic resource is Hanover Meeting House?
Hanover Meeting House is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Hanover Meeting House?
The period of significance for Hanover Meeting House is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Hanover Meeting House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Hanover Meeting House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Hanover County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Hanover County.
Explore HanoverCounty ›More historic places in Virginia
Browse all historic places in Virginia.
View Virginiahistoric sites ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Hanover Meeting House will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.