St. John’s Episcopal Church

Richmond Times-Dispatch Archives
Published: July 24, 2008

Check our photos
of a performance at St. John's Episcopal Church [2008]

Check our photos
for a tour of the grounds of St. John's Episcopal Church

Church Hill, east of downtown Richmond. The home of St. John's Episcopal Church (see below). Also, several hundred houses in the area restored since 1956. Offers a superb view of the city.

St. John's Episcopal Church, 2401 E. Broad St. Active Episcopal parish church, erected in 1741, Richmond's oldest church and the site of the Second Virginia Convention and Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech, which is re-enacted at 2 p.m. each Sunday (early arrival recommended) Memorial Day through Labor Day. Buried in the churchyard cemetery are many of Richmond's earliest notable residents. Guided tours are offered daily except major holidays and when there's a special event at the church; $3-$5; free for 7 and younger. Call or check the church's Web site for tour schedules.

Info: 648-5015 or www.historicstjohnschurch.org.

HISTORY
St. John's Church became famous as a living memorial to American liberty when over 100 Virginia colonial leaders, including Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, and Peyton Randolph met here in March of 1775 to avoid the wrath of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore in Williamsburg.  St. John's Church was the only building in Richmond suitable to hold the delegates.  Patrick Henry's famous "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech was delivered on 23 March 1775 inside the church.  Henry's  timely resolutions passed by a narrow margin and the American Revolution began the following month when shots were fired at Lexington and Concord.

St. John's Church was the first church built in the city of Richmond.  It was completed in 1741 as part of the Henrico Parish.  The parish was established in 1611.  William Byrd II, founder of the city of Richmond, donated the land and timber to build the church.  The graveyard is the site of the first public cemetery in Richmond.  Many persons who made contributions to the history of Richmond and Virginia are buried here, such as: George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of Independence and teacher of law to Thomas Jefferson, Chief Justice John Marshall, and Henry Clay; John Page and James Wood, Governors of Virginia; Elizabeth Arnold Poe, mother of Edgar Allan Poe; and Dr. James McClurg, a Virginia delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

In 1961, the National Park Service designated St. John's Church a National Historic Landmark.
[Credit: www.historicstjohnschurch.org]