Officially Historic After 143 Years Historic marker, dedicated Sunday, represents Cartersville's official designation. By Mike DiCicco June 14, 2006 A parcel of land near the corner of Hunter Mill Road and Sunrise Valley Drive, now occupied by a small, cinderblock church, has served as a place of worship for the vicinity's black families for some 143 years. At the church's anniversary celebration Sunday afternoon, congregants, neighbors and a delegation of local officials also celebrated the site's designation by the Fairfax County History Commission as an official historic site. Cartersville Baptist Church "has provided a venue by which African Americans have been able to maintain a sense of culture and dignity in spite of otherwise being treated like second-class citizens," Thomas Wooden Sr., whose ancestors were founding members of the church, told the crowd. Speakers alluded to the long history of the church, including the donation of the land on which it sits by Rose Carter in 1903 - long after residents had been meeting on the premises - and the fact that it has served as a place of refuge for the same families, generation after generation. Officials also tried to put the church's long history into perspective. State Sen. Janet Howell (D-32) pointed out that the Civil War was just beginning to turn in 1863 and noted that the church "has been a religious, cultural and social fixture in this community" since that time. Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Gerry Connolly noted that the church was founded in the same year that the Battle of Gettysburg was fought and the Emancipation Proclamation signed. Of all the historic sites on Hunter Mill Road, "Cartersville Baptist Church, in my mind, is the most important," said state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-34), explaining that many of the 52 sites along the corridor were important in their day, while Cartersville continues to be a center of activity in the community. Connolly and Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) presented the church with a resolution from the Board of Supervisors declaring June 11, 2006 to be Cartersville Baptist Church Day in Fairfax County, and Del. Kenneth Plum (D-36) presented a certificate of commendation from the Virginia General Assembly. Devolites Davis also thanked the Hunter Mill Defense League for nominating the site for historic designation and for doing the research to back the nomination. ONE OF THE DEFENSE League members responsible for a major portion of the research is Jody Bennett. What they were able to verify, said Bennett, was that in 1863, several black families in the area began meeting for worship at homes in the area of the present-day church, on land that had been purchased in 1846 by a free black woman named Bethia Fairfax. By the time that Rose Carter, one of Fairfax's children, donated a small parcel of land to be used by the congregation, a one-room building already sat on it and was being used as a church. The earliest documentation of the building also being used as a schoolhouse dates from 1927, although church elders say it was a place of learning prior to that FOR THE REST GO TO http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=67114&paper=73&cat=104

Thank you for the excellent report on Cartersville Baptist Church. It was a blessing. Linda Perry -----Original Message----- From: pifox [mailto:pifox@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2006 10:50 PM To: VAFAIRFA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [VAFairfax] Officially Historic After 143 Years Officially Historic After 143 Years Historic marker, dedicated Sunday, represents Cartersville's official designation. By Mike DiCicco June 14, 2006 A parcel of land near the corner of Hunter Mill Road and Sunrise Valley Drive, now occupied by a small, cinderblock church, has served as a place of worship for the vicinity's black families for some 143 years. At the church's anniversary celebration Sunday afternoon, congregants, neighbors and a delegation of local officials also celebrated the site's designation by the Fairfax County History Commission as an official historic site. Cartersville Baptist Church "has provided a venue by which African Americans have been able to maintain a sense of culture and dignity in spite of otherwise being treated like second-class citizens," Thomas Wooden Sr., whose ancestors were founding members of the church, told the crowd. Speakers alluded to the long history of the church, including the donation of the land on which it sits by Rose Carter in 1903 - long after residents had been meeting on the premises - and the fact that it has served as a place of refuge for the same families, generation after generation. Officials also tried to put the church's long history into perspective. State Sen. Janet Howell (D-32) pointed out that the Civil War was just beginning to turn in 1863 and noted that the church "has been a religious, cultural and social fixture in this community" since that time. Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Gerry Connolly noted that the church was founded in the same year that the Battle of Gettysburg was fought and the Emancipation Proclamation signed. Of all the historic sites on Hunter Mill Road, "Cartersville Baptist Church, in my mind, is the most important," said state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-34), explaining that many of the 52 sites along the corridor were important in their day, while Cartersville continues to be a center of activity in the community. Connolly and Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) presented the church with a resolution from the Board of Supervisors declaring June 11, 2006 to be Cartersville Baptist Church Day in Fairfax County, and Del. Kenneth Plum (D-36) presented a certificate of commendation from the Virginia General Assembly. Devolites Davis also thanked the Hunter Mill Defense League for nominating the site for historic designation and for doing the research to back the nomination. ONE OF THE DEFENSE League members responsible for a major portion of the research is Jody Bennett. What they were able to verify, said Bennett, was that in 1863, several black families in the area began meeting for worship at homes in the area of the present-day church, on land that had been purchased in 1846 by a free black woman named Bethia Fairfax. By the time that Rose Carter, one of Fairfax's children, donated a small parcel of land to be used by the congregation, a one-room building already sat on it and was being used as a church. The earliest documentation of the building also being used as a schoolhouse dates from 1927, although church elders say it was a place of learning prior to that FOR THE REST GO TO http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=67114&paper=73&cat=1 04 ==== VAFAIRFA Mailing List ==== E-mail List Mom at mailto:daisysroots@yahoo.com http://www.rootsweb.com/~vafairfa/ ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&ta rgetid=5429