Historic Places: Pohick Church

The historic Pohick Episcopal Church located in Lorton, Virginia has tremendous amounts of colonial history, presents an excellent example of classical Georgian architecture and incredibly is still in use today.

The construction began in 1769 and was completed in 1774. The building committee included the likes of George Washington and George Mason and held an active membership until 1785. Occasionally used by other church affiliations until the civil war, the church was then occupied by union troops which caused a great deal of damage to the building. Some civil war graffiti can still be seen around the doorways on the outside. During the 1800’s and early 1900’s the building was restored and renovated to its colonial style and now holds regular services weekly.

Among the original families of membership was Col. George Washington, Col. George Mason, and many well known colonial Virginian families.

The interior includes a baptismal used in the original church between 1732 and 1774. The baptismal itself can possibly be dated back to 1066 A.D. The pews are arranged in family adorned boxes. The organ in the balcony was donated during the sixties and includes 880 pipes. The chandeliers without are believed to have been passed down from an 18th century French church. The pulpit is astounding in historical value as well as aesthetic appeal.

The tombstone of the Rev. Lee Massey, the last rector of Truro Parish in the colonial era is located behind the pulpit, the cross in the window near the altarpiece came from the Mt. Vernon estate. The cemetery holds graves dated as early as 1698. Oldest gravesites are located in the churchyard and include graves moved from other sites while the expansive cemetery includes a memorial to the unknown dead, monuments erected for the Fitzhugh family and the remains of 34 members of the Alexander family for which the city of Alexandria is named.