PHOTOs : sarah burke
Mt . Zion Old School Baptist Church and burial grounnds ; right : the historic trail came to be known as Rogue ’ s Road .
has much to offer regarding American history . Established by the Primitive or “ Old School ” Baptist group in 1851 , the church held services until 1980 and was acquired by NOVA Parks in 2009 . Constructed in a simple Greek Revival style with no religious iconography , the church was built to reflect the conservative beliefs and values of the Old School Baptist group .
Long before the church was established , the onsite trail beyond the burial ground was travelled by the area ’ s indigenous people , particularly the Susquehannock and later , the Iroquois Confederacy , for both trade and the chance to pursue warmer weather during winter . This “ plain path ” was recorded in the Virginia Act of 1662 and again in the 1722 Treaty of Albany , which was established to prevent the Iroquois from travelling east of the Blue Ridge .
The path became known as the Carolina Road because it led to an Occaneechie trading post along the Virginia-Carolina border . Perhaps due to its isolated location , horse and cattle thieves targeted the path for nefarious purposes which eventually earned it a more ominous nickname : Rogues ’ Road . Today , Mt . Zion visitors can hike this historic path , and driving along Route 15 will more or less mirror its route . It ’ s a peaceful but relatively secluded spot , and you can imagine what it must have felt like for those unlucky enough to fall prey to highwaymen .
In addition to acting as a rendezvous point for John Singleton Mosby ( the “ Gray Ghost ”) and his rangers during the American Civil War , Mt . Zion was used as a hospital , a prison , and even a key battleground during July of 1864 . In 1865 , local Eliza Davis wrote to a family member of her experiences “ living on the battlefield ”, specifically about how her barn and the Mt . Zion church were being used as hospitals for the wounded soldiers . These soldiers left their mark on the church through graffiti on the interior walls , which are currently undergoing efforts to be uncovered , restored , and analyzed .
The Mt . Zion church yard is the final resting place of both
Union and Confederate soldiers , a veteran from the War of 1812 , as well as Lynde Walter Buckingham , the chief cavalry correspondent for the New York Herald who was covering battles in and around the villages of Aldie , Middleburg , and Upperville at the time of his death . Black American members of the congregation were laid to rest outside the walls of the official cemetery , a cold reminder of the segregation that also once went on within the walls of the church .
Just eight miles from Mt . Zion stands the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun ( UUCL ) and the old Gleedsville Cemetery , which dates back to the late 19th century . Originally known as the Mt . Olive Methodist Episcopal Church , this historic church was constructed by people who were formerly enslaved at the nearby Oatlands plantation . It is one of the last reminders of the now vanished town of Gleedsville . Named for Jack Gleed , one of the church ’ s founders as well as one of the first freed people to purchase
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