[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1193-E1194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF THE OLD STONE CHURCH FOUNDATION AND ITS UNITED 
                       METHODIST CHURCH AFFILATES

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 6, 2016

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the Old Stone 
Church Foundation and its United Methodist Church Affiliates which will 
soon be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the first Methodist land 
acquisition in the Western Hemisphere. Upon this land the original Old 
Stone Church was constructed on the 11th of May 1766 when Nicholas 
Minor, the founder of Leesburg, deeded half an acre of land to 
Methodist Robert Hamilton

[[Page E1194]]

``for no other use but for a church or meeting house, graveyard''.
  By 1786, the Leesburg Methodist Society had been founded and began to 
host annual conferences whereby its members would meet from across the 
states. When the Methodists separated from the Anglican Church in 1784, 
they began the construction of the Old Stone Church as the first new 
house of worship, and the only church within Leesburg. This site then 
later served as the host of the very first Virginia Annual Conference 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the precursor to the modem 
United Methodist Church.
  Though the Old Church was demolished in 1901, the Virginia Conference 
of the United Methodist Church purchased the land back in 1965 and 
preserved it as a historic site. Since then, this land has been 
recognized by the Virginia Landmarks register and the national register 
of Historic places.
  Mr. Speaker, this land and all that stands upon it marks an important 
part of U.S. History as the founding location of one of our nation's 
largest religious institutions, and is therefore of great significance 
not only to Methodists and the people of Leesburg, but to our entire 
country. I would ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the United 
Methodist Church Affiliates for passing this impressive milestone. I 
hope they continue to preserve our nation's history with the same 
passion for years to come.

                          ____________________