Hi folks In response to some requests for more early church information I went to the library today. :-) While I was there I found the citation for the book I mentioned in the Baptist Churches {long} post I did yesterday. Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History, by Deborah Vansau McCauley, University of Illinois Press, Urbana & Chicago, 1995. A good read for those that like those kinds of things. I also thought I would pull together some short sketch of the Methodist Church in the Upper New River Valley area. R. N. Price's 5 volume set, Holston Methodism certainly would contain much needed source material, but it is poorly indexed, and will take longer to develop a coherent story of the Methodists. I also looked at William Edward Eisenberg's The Lutheran Church in Virginia, 1717-1962, published by the Trustees of the Virginia Synod, Roanoke, Virginia, 1967. A look at that book yielded a few brief facts that some might be interested in. In Smyth County, the Lutheran Chruches are/were: Ebenezer Church in Marion, established in 1799 Pleasant Hill at Groseclose, established in 1843 St. James Church at St. Clair's Bottom, near Chilhowie, established in 1856 Attoway Parish was established in 1910 and has two churches in it: Furnace Hill Church established in 1921 and Attonement CHurch which was established in 1925. Another Lutheran Church esisted in Smyth County: St. Matthews, formerly known as Collups or Cedar Grove, which was extant during 1857-1929. This one would have been to the east of Sugar Grove. Mr. Eisenburg dosesn't mention Laurel Valley Church in his formal list of Smyth County Lutheran Churches, but in another place in his book he lists it as a Lutheran Church in Smyth County. This one is at Konnarock on the Smyth County side. Beautiful structure. In Grayson County, there have been several Lutheran Churches over the years, but only one remains to the best of my knowledge. Here is a sketch. In 1789 Rev. Paul Henkel visited German settlers on Elk Creek in Grayson COunty and by 1790 the Synod records show a church on Elk Creek in Wythe County. (Grayson wasn't created from Wythe until 1792/1793). Subsequent records reveal that this church's formal name was St. John's and is listed in Synod records until 1818, but Mr. Eisenburg speculated that the congregation met occasionally until 1830 when it was disbanded. It was about 90 years before the Lutheran Church made additional efforts in Grayson County. This was principally due to L. C. Hassinger, owner of Hassinger Lumber Company at Konnarock. Mr. Hassinger, a Lutheran, recruited Lutheran ministers for a "mission field" and funded much of their activity. Notable among these missionaries was one Rev. Kenneth Killinger and Sister Sofie, a Lutheran nurse who helped many families with medical care in the western end of Grayson County. Lutheran Churches in Grayson County in the 20th century are/were: Faith Church, established in 1931. This is the one across the road from Mt. Rogers Combined School. St. John's Lutheran CHurch. This one was established in 1939 on upper Grassy Creek. This building is now used as a hay barn, and I never remember any services being held there, so must have disbaned ca. 1960 or so. The Friendly Church at Whitetop City was established in 1923. This building is now used as the Whitetop Presbyterian Church. Ivy Grove Church at Rugby was established in 1930. The Ivy Grove Building is now used as a barn. Note, Faith Lutheran, Friendly Lutheran and Ivy Grove Lutheran Churches were merged in 1959, using the Faith church building, and the combined congregation is still active (the only one in Grayson), and uses the name Messiah Lutheran Church. There was also a Redeemer Lutheran Church on Fairwood Road near Troutdale, which was established in 1923. In 1959 it was consolidated with St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Konnarock just over in Washington County. This church was in land now owned by the National Forest Service, and the structure was burned. Hassinger's had a band mill at Fairwood. I dont know where the records of any of these congregations are, although I would suspect Roanoke College. As best I am aware there has never been a Lutheran Church in Ashe or Alleghany County, NC. There is one (some?) in Watauga County, but I don't know the particulars of those congregations. Warm regards Jeff Weaver PO Box 351 Saltville, Smyth County, VA http://www.ls.net/~newriver/nrv.htm - New River Notes http://members.aol.com/jweaver300/grayson/vacwhp.htm - Virginia Civil War Home Page