Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/08/1987
NRHP Listing Date 07/07/1988
NRHP Reference Number 88001013
This simple country church housed Halifax County’s first Presbyterian congregation. Presbyterians began to spread through the southern Piedmont in the mid-18th century. By 1830 they were determined to have a more conveniently located meetinghouse and soon erected the present structure. Eschewing any prideful trappings, the little wooden building is basically enclosed space. Its small size reflects its original membership which numbered only twenty-six, including sixteen African Americans. A singular feature of the plain interior is the horizontal plank cladding. By 1926 the congregation had outgrown the building and moved on. The Old Providence (Halifax) Presbyterian Church then was used as a storage barn. It became the property of the Blanks family in 1947 who in 1981 restored it as a family memorial, now in the care of the Blanks Memorial Foundation.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: May 4, 2023
