Laurel Grove Baptist Church (Site)

In the 1880's, African-American families in the Franconia community "began meeting for open-air worship services near a grove of laurel," according to information from the church. The cemetery sits behind the church in a grove of oaks. The church caught on fire in December 2004 and was completely destroyed. There is a fundraising campaign underway to try to rebuild the historic church.


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Here follows an excerpt from the church's website:

The history of Laurel Grove Baptist Church is a history rich in commitment to God and the Franconia Community. The stately house of worship, quaintly known as “The Church by the side of the Road,” is not the result of an accident. It is reported that in 1884, a group neighbors: George Carroll, Middleton Braxton, Thornton Gray, Laurenda Huntger, William and Georginna Jasper, and Elizabeth Lomax, realized that Black families in Franconia had no convenient place to worship except in their homes or to walk 13 miles to Alexandria City.

On May 10, 1884, William Jasper and his wife, Georginna, did will and bequest ½ acre of land for the building of Laurel Grove Baptist Church. This act is duly recorded in Deed Book E; No. 5, page 383 in Fairfax County.

Laurel Grove began its existence in a grove of chestnut trees and wild flowering laurel bushes. The church’s future from its very beginning, was vested in dedication to God, and the Christian principles of loving, caring, giving, and sharing. It was through these principles and the physical efforts of the original founders noted above, the church become a physical reality.

Thus the legacy, history, and legend began to unfold, sustained by prayer, faith, hope, love, and the dreams that have lasted 129 years.

Over the past 129 years, Laurel Grove has been blessed with fourteen pastors. The church is currently under the spiritual leadership of Pastor Rev. Dr. James E. Scott.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Washington Post newspaper about the church fire:

Fire Claims Historic Black Church
Electrical Malfunction Blamed in Blaze at Fairfax Sanctuary Built by Freed Slaves
By Tara Bahrampour
December 20, 2004

Sunday night, the children at Laurel Grove Baptist Church in Fairfax County staged a Christmas nativity play and collected toys for a nearby children's hospital. Hours later, the blackened ruins of the 120-year-old white clapboard church stood jaggedly against the winter sky after it was destroyed by fire early yesterday morning.

The fire, which was reported by a passing motorist at 4:11 a.m., was caused by an electrical malfunction in the attic, said Lt. Raul G. Castillo of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. High winds fanned the flames, he said, adding that more than 50 firefighters fought the blaze. Two were treated for minor injuries at a hospital after slipping on ice that formed around the building.

Yesterday, members of the congregation and neighbors from the community stood shivering in the parking lot of the little church, which was built in 1884 by freed slaves, some of whose descendants still attended services there.

"It's my little family," trustee S.J. Muldrow said of the 75-member congregation. "It was so homelike. Everybody knows everybody by the first name."

He stared up at the scorched and broken frame, where a necklace of icicles had formed. "I felt pretty low this afternoon when I saw this," he said. "I thought it was going to be something burnt, but something you could fix. But it doesn't look that way."

Muldrow, 62, who has attended the church for 15 years, said new red pew cushions and an expensive set of front doors had recently been installed. The middle of the building had collapsed, crushing the pews, and one of the front doors, its Christmas wreath half-burnt, hung open, framing the sky.

Pointing at the beams, some of which were the original wood donated by a 19th-century farmer, Muldrow said, "See, that's old lumber there. You don't see it like that [any] more."

As he stood there, a gray-haired woman drove up to offer condolences. An 11-year-old boy got off his bike to ask if they were going to move to a new church. A young man who said he runs past the church every day stopped to ask if they had held their Christmas pageant.

Behind the church sat well-tended tombstones with the names Carroll, Baker, Walker -- some of the founding families. A few feet away, unscathed, stood a one-room schoolhouse that opened the same year as the church and served black children until 1933. It had recently been turned into a museum, and schoolchildren had started visiting on field trips.

Phyllis Walker Ford, 57, is the fourth generation of her family to attend services there. Her great-grandparents -- a freed slave named William Jasper and his wife, Georgiana -- donated an acre of their 12-acre farm for the church and school. Until then, open-air services had been held on the site near a grove of laurels.

In September, she said, the church hosted a homecoming day for congregation members from across the country, who told stories of the old days.

"When we first started off as kids, there was the potbellied stove that warmed the church," said Ford, who lives in Clifton. "And of course all the kids who sat close were burning up, and the kids that sat far away were freezing."

Because of the church's historic value, the damage estimate has not been tallied, Castillo said.

Delores Comer-Frye, the church historian, said congregation members will meet tomorrow to discuss what to do. For now, several churches have offered them space.

As she spoke, a man climbed out of the ruins holding a painting of the white church against a blue sky. Comer-Frye smiled with relief. "It's one of our prized possessions," she said.

A new prized possession, one that is now safe in her house, is the only part of the large sign in front to escape the flames. The words "Laurel Grove Baptist Church" had been burnt black, but the fire spared the cross at the far end of the sign.

She plans to frame the cross and return it to the resurrected church, whenever and wherever that may be. "Wherever we go," she said, "it goes."

The Rev. Edward Young Sr., pastor of Laurel Grove, is distraught as he leaves the scene. No damage estimate was given because of the church's historic value.

Fairfax fire investigator Terry Hall surveys damage at the church, which was built in 1884. Some descendants of the founders still attended service there.


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Here follows an excerpt from the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter as written by Angela Comer and published by the Franconia Museum in 2005:

HISTORIC LAUREL GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH CONSUMED BY FIRE.
As I drove up to the church on the day of the fire, I was struck by the amount of devastation. I guess I thought that even through this challenge, the church would be still standing. When I saw what remained I started to remember...

I remembered the first time I came to the church. My cousin had found this little church and wanted us to go. Until that time, we were traveling to Arlington to attend a much bigger church. I remember the dear Deacons that were there. I remember the songs they used to sing and the prayers they prayed. Deacon Robinson used to sing, "This Old Building Keeps On Leaning. I've gotta move to a better home." Deacon Baker used to pray and my sister and I could repeat it word for word. I remember stepping out in the aisle, giving my hand to the preacher and my heart to God. I remember remarking at the fact that when I stepped out so did my sister. In this situation, it was the little sister that took the lead.

I remember the preacher, Rev. Boggess baptized me. He was weakened, by either age or sickness (I am not sure which). I do recall questioning whether he was up to the task of baptizing me and developing a contingency plan if in the pool, his strength waned, I was determined to resurface. As I did resurface, under the strength and guidance of the Pastor, I remember hearing the jubilant shouts of my grandmother.

Of all the things I loved about the church, the family atmosphere, the homecoming, the history, there were things that I chose to rebel against. I did not want to go every Sunday, I protested to the length of the sermon, I did not see the need to have so many services, and I did not understand why I must wear a dress and stockings. God of course did not set that dress standard. As I became older, I stopped going. I finally changed membership for a church of "my standard." I felt I had outgrown Laurel Grove.

I returned years later as many prodigal children do. As in the bible, Laurel Grove treated me like royalty when I returned. Instead of scornful faces, I found open arms and a welcoming spirit. I remember the last days of my son's life and how he enjoyed everyone at the church. Hours after his death, I remember it was Deaconess Welch who was one of the first people to come to see how I was doing. When her son died, I returned the gesture. I remember the day I donated and dedicated a drum set in my late son's name and how it seemed to propel the children to new heights.

I remember the children, the Heavenly Sunshine -- the choir I help start at the church. I watched our children grow and take an active part in their faith and development. I see how their ministry and praise delivered people and strengthened faith. I remember also the last night I was in the church -- the children were putting on the Christmas Celebration. Due to transitions in the music ministry, I was worried about the success of the project. I found, in the end, no need to worry, because what belongs to God will always succeed. The service was more than wonderful, it was inspirational.

Lastly I remember, again, questioning my place and future at Laurel Grove with a deacon that night.

As I looked at the destruction of that building, I mourn all that has passed -- all the love, the history, the traditions, the good times, the bad times. The bible says that no weapon formed against us shall prosper and what the devil meant for our destruction, God meant for our good. It says that He knows the plans he has for us and they are to prosper us and not to harm us. Armed with that, I look forward not only to the future of Laurel Grove, but being an active part of shaping it.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2007 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

IN MEMORIAM:
Daniel Baker, the sixth child of eight children, was born on May 14, 1917 to the late Reverend James Walter Baker, Sr. and Elizabeth Lomax Baker in Franconia, Virginia. He attended The Laurel Grove School, the one room school built for “the first generation born to freedom”. Daniel, a World War II veteran, served in the military in Germany in the early forties. When he left the service, he married Margie Braxton in October 1948. A Federal Government employee, he worked for many years and retired from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Daniel was a “jack–of-all-trades”. He enjoyed doing carpentry work, landscaping, and was well admired for his vegetable garden. Much later after the death of his wife Margie, Daniel met and married Daisy Baker. Ironically, she never had to change her last name. They shared a beautiful life together working and serving the Laurel Grove Church family until her death in May 2001. Daniel was a devout Christian. He attended church and Sunday School at Laurel Grove Baptist Church for most of his life. He served as a Deacon for many years and was known to many as “Deacon Dan”. He served in this office until his illness in January 2002. Daniel participated in the first “Story Swap” held by Franconia Museum. He shared many pictures and it was evident from his enthusiasm, that he loved Franconia. He is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth Blackwell and Martha Baker; a sister-in-law, Sally Baker; a stepson, James Baker and his wife Gwen; one step-daughter, Gloria Banks and her husband Edward; his grandson, Pree Jones, who he raised as his own son, a host of grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, other friends and relatives.