Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/16/1980
NRHP Listing Date 07/08/1982
NRHP Reference Number 82004670
An endearingly simple house of worship, Oakland Grove Church is the oldest-known church building in Alleghany County and is regarded as one of the county’s chief historic landmarks. The congregation began in 1847 as a mission of the Covington Presbyterian Church. The construction of the brick church building that same year coincided with a religious reawakening among area Presbyterians, when six churches in the Montgomery Presbytery enjoyed “a few seasons of refreshing.” The church was converted to a Confederate hospital in the Civil War and a number of soldiers are buried in its cemetery. Oakland Grove is the mother church of several area Presbyterian churches but is now used only for special services. The building has never been modernized; its original pews, gallery, and furnishings are intact, and it is still illuminated by kerosene lamps.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 4, 2018
