Weather delays precluded completion of final measurements of the dig site. The measurements will be completed in spring 2006.
On December 20, 2005, the Dig Site was closed.
By the end of 2005, a total of 54 excavation units were uncovered and artifacts removed for further processing.
A PARK: The site of Elk Run Anglican Church will become a historic park later this fall.
By Edward F. Dandar
The archaeological research project at Elk Run Anglican Church is nearing completion. The all-volunteer, community project has been underway since 1999.
Volunteers have worked on Saturdays, in good weather in spring, summer, and fall to help expose the foundation of the church and dig controlled excavation units for recovery of colonial artifacts and building materials.
On weekends during the winter months, they have work¬ed to clean and identify the artifacts recovered from the site.
Settlers first arrived in the Elk Run area between 1715 and 1719. By the time that Hamilton Parish was established in 1730, there were several hundred people living in the Elk Run vicinity of Virginia.
A wooden chapel is believed to have already existed by the 1740s, when Prince William Minute Books make note of road repairs being done in front of the “Elk Run Chapel.”
The chapel preceded the pre-Revolutionary brick cruci¬form structure that was built there in the late 1750s. The first rector of the Elk Run church was the Reverend James Keith, a native of Scotland, who from the 1740s until 1751. Rev. Keith was the grandfather of Chief Justice John Marshall, born not far away at Germantown.
To preserve the site for posterity, a preservation committee - led by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Catlett, and in collaboration with St. James’ Church in Warrenton and ecumenically with other churches in the region - initiated the project.
The group has sought to raise funds through appeals to residents, organizations and businesses to support the research and the eventual development of the site as an historical park.
Neighbors and nearby residents, including members of the A. W. Patton family, have been especially helpful in these efforts.
Over the last five years, 54 controlled excavation units have been laid out and excavated under the supervision of our volunteer archaeologist, Dr. John Eddins.
A digital survey of key excavation unit points was accomplished in 2004 and final excavation unit measurements will be completed this fall. To date, found artifacts include handmade nails, ceramic dish fragments, 18th and 19th century coins, and Indian arrowheads dating back 4,000 years or more.
The transition of the “dig site” into an historic park will happen later this fall.
The park will have the original four foot wide foundation outlined on the surface with colonial bricks, to reflect the actual size of the church. A designated section of the
church foundation has been selected to be enclosed with a plexiglas-like material for year-round viewing once the site is converted into a historic park.
The accompanying overhead-view of the church foundation indicates how the surface may appear, once park landscaping is completed. This photograph was made possible by Virginia Dominion Power.
Over the next few months the volunteers will help finish up the excavations and detailed documentation of the remains of the church. We will also begin back-filling the site, preparing a report and historical tourism pamphlets, landscaping the site, and developing permanent historical displays.
Volunteers are welcome to assist, and financial donations and or materials for the historic park are greatly appreciated. For more information visit the Web site.
Edward F Dandar, of Nokesville, is the chairman of the Elk Run Church Site Preservation Committee.
On September 24, 2005, top-down photos of the entire archaeological site for the Archaeological Interpretative Sign was completed.
The Elk Run Church Web site was updated on June 27, 2005 by the new Webmaster, Sarah Gulick, and a new Artifacts section is added to the Web site.
Diocese of Virginia
What began as an attempt to clear brush uncovered the remains of what is believed to be the first brick church in the mid-18th century frontier of Fauquier County, Virginia. The Elk Run Anglican Church was built sometime in the late 1750s. It served as the mother church for Hamilton Parish, and its first rector was the Rev. James Keith. Today, the Preservation Committee, let by members of St. Stephen’s, Catlett, in collaboration with St. James’, Warrenton, is leading the archaeological effort to preserve the site.
Ned Browning, a descendant of Pastor Keith whose family acquired the church site in the 20th century, donated the land with the ruins of the church to St. Stephen’s. After his death in 1999, Edward F. Dandar, Jr., a retired Army colonel and St. Stephen’s historian, took charge of the excavation.
Over the past five years, 54 controlled excavation unites have been laid out and excavated under the supervision of volunteer archaeologist, Dr. John Eddins. Units #53 and #54 will be completed this summer. A digital survey of key excavation unit points was accomplished in 2004 and final excavation unit measurements will also be completed this summer. To date, found artifacts include handmade nails, ceramic dish fragments, 18th- and 19th-century coins, and Indian arrowheads dating back 4,000 years or more.
The all-volunteer archaeological team has confirmed that Elk Run Church was a rare Greek cross structure with roughly equal-sized extensions on all sides. The transition of the dig site into a historic park will happen later this fall. The original four food-wide foundation of the church will be outlined with Colonial bricks to reflect the actual size of the church. A designated section of the foundation has been selected to be enclosed with a Plexiglas-like material for year-round viewing once the site is converted into a park.
The Preservation Committee needs community volunteers this summer to complete the archaeological work. The site offers a unique opportunity not only to participate in “digging up some history,” but also to learn some fundamentals of archaeological work. Local citizens, church youth groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, 4H Club members are invited to participate in the project. The volunteers meet every Saturday during summer and fall, weather permitting.
For more information about this work, check out the Web site.
On May 7, 2005, the Church Dig Site was reopened.
Key goals for 2005, include: (1) finishing Foundation Units’ Archaeological Measurements, (2) completing excavation of Units #53 and #54, (3) taking top-down photo of entire site for Archaeological Interpretative Sign, (4) finalizing all-weather enclosure design for Unit #14 so contract can be initiated so that year-round viewing can occur, and (5) and begin converting “dig site” into a Historic Park.
Elk Run Volunteers clean and prepare excavation units for final measurements.
