ITCHELLS PRESBYTERIAN Church sits on a quiet country road in Culpeper County between a cornfield and a school building that dates from the early 1900s. The clean lines of the church's dignified Gothic form belie the breathtaking interior murals that visually stun visitors who see them for the first time. It seems to be a displaced piece of Tuscany, but to its loyal congregation of some 100 members, it is home.
On a recent day, Pastor John Grotz looked thoughtful for a moment when asked how he would describe Mitchells Church. He called it "a small country church that is active and lively, with participation from all age groups and missions trips as far away as Washington, D.C., West Virginia and New York City."
That statement surely would have pleased the Rev. Samuel Davies Hoge, who, in a letter dated June 8, 1814, stated, "Presbyterianism is a very rare article in this regionand I have a prospect of collecting a pretty good flock before long."
Followers of John Calvin, mainly from Scotland and Ireland, had begun migrating into Pennsylvania and Maryland in the mid-18th century. They flowed south and westward across the mountains and through the valleys, raising crops and children, founding towns, starting businesses and establishing Presbyterian churches. Missions went out from these churches into the more remote areas, the missions became chapels, then finally blossomed into churches themselves, and the process started again.
Church records from 1767 to 1781 show mission work being done in Culpeper County and, finally, in 1814 the Bethesda Presbyterian Church was formed at Culpeper Courthouse, later to become the town of Culpeper. This is when Hoge appeared on the scene and expressed his optimistic view on the spread of his faith.
Generally speaking, between the years of 1785 to 1837, there was an optimistic feeling afoot. The Revolutionary War had been won, national heroes created, and finally, in 1787, the Constitution of the United States was ratified. The Statute for Religious Freedom was enacted in 1786 and, in 1791, the Bill of Rights established the separation of church and state.
During this period, a movement called the Second Great Awakening was sweeping the evangelical world. Revival meetings that could last several days brought religious fervor, converts and enthusiasm that led to establishing new churches and refurbishing old ones. Energy of this type was responsible for the organization of the Rapid Ann Presbyterian Chapel in 1884, established on Somerville plantation, originally owned by James Somerville.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1774, James Somerville had come to Fredericksburg at the age of 16 to work for his uncle with the same name, who owned a large mercantile business and the Stevens and Somerville tanyard. His uncle's will brought half-interest in the tanyard to James, as well as 6,000 acres of land in Spotsylvania, Culpeper and Orange counties.
James married Mary Atwell in 1798. They moved to the Culpeper property in 1812 and built their home there. James' obituary revealed that during his lifetime he had gained the determination and strength of will to abstain from a 30-year use of alcohol, attributing this "more visibly by the grace of God than any other case known in this part of the world." James and Mary Somerville's dedication to the church has passed down through their descendants as one of several early families who have long been associated with Mitchells Church.
By 1846, the chapel at Somerville, had been well established and two ministers, the Rev. John Royall and the Rev. Thomas D. Bell, were commissioned to preach there. In August of 1847, they organized an outdoor revival, referred to as an "arbor meeting" that was held at Robinson's Ford on the Rapidan River. This was a convenient location that attracted a large group of people from both sides of the river and was so successful that "Mr. Royall afterwards took up a collection to build a house of worship."
This resulted in a second chapel, built on the Orange County side of the river in a location known as River Crook. The land was purchased from Thomas and Sarah Newman for the sum of $1 "good and lawful money" and the congregation moved there from Somerville in 1849.
During the Civil War, the Bethesda mother church in Culpeper was destroyed. But River Crook Chapel survived, having been used for multiple purposes at various times. Wounded troops were cared for there, it served as a military headquarters, and at other times it was used for church services. An event called "The Great Revival Along the Rapidan," of 1863-64, was attended by a great many Confederate soldiers. Accounts vary--some say 7,000, others 10,000 to 15,000--confessed their faith by the river.
After the war, with no church in Culpeper and in spite of a weak regional economy, Walter Somerville, elder of the Bethesda church, successfully petitioned for a separate organization and, on Oct. 18, 1867, River Crook Chapel became the Rapidan Church. During the ordination and installation of the minister, the Rev. John Phillips, however, a severe storm caused so much flooding that it was decided to move the congregation to Mitchells Station, on the Culpeper side of the river and, in 1888, its name was officially changed to Mitchells Presbyterian Church.
Property to build on was purchased from Abraham G. and Mary Mount and Mary H. Shadrach for the sum of $22.50. The church was dedicated on Nov. 6, 1879, and shortly thereafter the land that comprises the cemetery was purchased from T.W. Ross for $15.52.
Funds were raised for a new building that took shape in a simple but elegant Gothic Revival architectural form. Mitchells Church had reached its development and permanent location.
The following years brought Mitchells the ups and downs normally experienced by churches, especially in their formative period when funding is always a problem.
The Rev. J.C. Painter observed during his leadership that "these Scottish people seem to hold fast to their monies." It also was stated that "it seems to be the case throughout the history of this church."
By 1891, however, under the leadership of the Rev. E.H. Stover, a high point was achieved, and some of the ladies of the congregation got involved with the embellishment of the church. The iron fence that encloses the building and cemetery was given by Ellen D. Farish, Sarah T. Thompson and Jennie B. Somerville, the latter of whom also gave the carpeting in the chancel.
This also is the period when the interior of the church was enriched with the work of Joseph Oddenino, whose unique and amazing architectural murals set Mitchells apart from the usual church interiors.
His work consists of trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) frescos with a use of shading and perspective in geometric designs and architectural illusions that give the first impression of walking into a Gothic cathedral. Part of the historic charm of the paintings is that they were never completed. Church lore indicates that Oddenino was dismissed "because of a drinking problem," which enriches the history of the church without detracting from the existing decor. The murals are an unfinished symphony of elegant, soaring architectural elements with exquisitely graceful details.
Oddenino was an Italian from the Turin piedmont region who studied at seminary then, after a stint in the army, designed patterns for fabrics in his family's linen manufactory. He joined the heavy emigration movement to America, arriving in New York City in March 1862. Inducted into the Union Army on April 4 as a musician, he came with his unit, Company B, 5th Regiment, New York Voluntary Heavy Artillery, to Virginia. He was discharged at Harpers Ferry exactly three years later, and returned to the Virginia Piedmont area where he resided alternately in Madison, Culpeper and Orange counties, working as an itinerant painter. Aside from Mitchells, very few examples of his work still exist, one being the ceiling at Hebron Church in Madison County.
Up to 1902, there had been no official residency for Mitchells' minister. This changed when Ellen D. Farish bequeathed $500 to start a building fund. The manse was finished in 1905 and was occupied by the minister, a Mr. Matthis, until his resignation in 1906. He was replaced by the Rev. T.W. Hooper, who also served the Culpeper church and had a home there so the manse was sold to Jenny G. Somerville.
It was in 1916, during Hooper's 47-year tenure, that efforts to acquire another manse began when Hooper broke from the Culpeper church. A house and land across from the church and next to the Mitchells School were purchased but when "Parson Hooper" went to war for three years in 1917, it also was sold.
The Rev. Grotz, the current pastor, and his family live in the manse in Culpeper owned by the congregation. He is serving his first church after graduating from Duke Divinity School in North Carolina nine years ago. Born and reared in Texas, Grotz has worked as a lumberjack in Montana and taught high school math before seminary. He and his wife, Cynthia, have three boys ages 6, 8 and 10, who, he says, are greatly spoiled by the congregation.
By 1975, it became apparent that the physical condition of the church building needed to be addressed. Consultation with noted restoration architect Milton Grigg led to listing of the church on both the Virginia and National Historic Landmarks registers. A search began for funding to restore the structure as well as the frescoes at a final cost of $170,000.
Work began when exterior aluminum siding was removed and paint research established the original color to be a soft ochre with white trim that again was applied.
Preserving the unique and precious murals was another matter, however. It began with stabilizing the walls and ceiling plaster, then carefully repainting only the areas damaged when interior chimneys for heating stoves were removed. Left unrepaired were old cracks in the plaster, some of which Oddenino had used as dividing lines for his work. Plywood paneling was removed in the entry foyer with the surprising discovery that the artist had used that area for practice themes, leaving what amounts to an artist's sketchbook.
Florescent tube lighting on the ceiling was replaced with hand-crafted metal fixtures typical to the 19th century in a style remembered by the church's longtime members.
Dorothy Faulconer is one of those lifelong members who was active in Mitchells' restoration. Pastor Grotz describes her as one of the people who are "the glue that keeps the church together." A daughter of Baptist and Catholic parents, she remembers Mitchells as the community church, a place where all faiths worshipped together.
"About a hundred people, adults and children, came to Sunday school around 1927," she recalls. "It was very family-oriented. We didn't have any black members. There were two black churches, but this was the only one for whites. People around here lived on farms and had large families then, and most everybody walked to church. It was a social time and after Sunday school they didn't stay for services but went home to prepare for Sunday dinner." She remembers the annual Christmas trees and the children receiving gifts of a box of candy and an orange.
At that time, the village of Mitchells Station consisted mainly of a post office, a store, a school, the church and the train depot. Milk and cattle were shipped there, and it also offered a telegraph office and passenger service. The school building across the road from the church served at various times as an elementary school and as a high school until Culpeper County incorporated the schools in the 1940s.
Esther White also was raised in the Mitchells Church. She is a retired school administrator and the church historian who gives tours of the building and is vastly knowledgeable about its history, its restoration, and the frescoes.
She remembers that when the congregation formally dedicated the newly restored church building, on Oct. 14, 1984, members of the Oddenino family attended. They had found a hymn the artist had composed for the organ, called "When the Gates Come Ajar" and played it at the ceremony. They also contributed photos that are displayed in the church and three of Joseph Oddenino's great-granddaughters contributed generously to the restoration project. Family members visit the Mitchells church occasionally.
"We have a congregation with families who have been here for generations and others with young children that make it very alive," Esther says. "The church has survived through the ages and will keep on going."
PATRICIA LaLAND is a freelance writer living in Orange.