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The History of Shady Grove
The beginnings of Shady Grove Methodist Church are clouded by the mists of time, and there are no accurate records in which the early days of the Church can be traced. However, in the records of The Methodist Church in early America, there is mention of a Hanover Circuit as early as 1775. It is written that this circuit was, “very large. It lay on both sides of the James River and was part of six counties.” It is quite probable that there were Methodists in the area around Shady Grove even at that early date.
The deed to the original church property was recorded November 24, 1846, to Trustees for Shady Grove Meeting House. This organization is also listed in the 1848 Hanover tax records. The oldest record, which contains mention of Shady Grove as a church, is an old Roll Book. On the fly leaf of this book are these words, “Church Book for Hanover Circuit, Virginian Conference, September 1853, Jeremiah McMullan, P.C. Hanover Circuit 1853.” (P. C. stands for Pastor In Charge.) According to the records in this old Church Book, in the year 1853, fourteen “Probationers” joined the Shady Grove Class. This fourteen brought the 48 the total membership of Shady Grove. In 1853, it was part of the Hanover Circuit in the Rappahannock District of the Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
In 1853, there were fourteen churches in the Hanover Circuit. In 1865, Shiloh, Rowzie’s and St. Lukes’s were transferred to the Beaverdam District. In 1868, St. Mark’s and King’s Chapel were dropped from the Circuit since they had gone out of use as churches. Even though five of the fourteen churches were gone, the growth in the rest, including Shady Grove, was evidently casting quite a burden on the minister, for we find the following in the Quarterly Conference Minutes of June 21, 1873: “Resolved, that we regard Hanover Circuit as too large and unwieldy beyond the power of any one man to cultivate properly.”
Hence, in 1874, the Virginia Conference reduced the Hanover Circuit to just four churches: Enon, Lebanon, Greenwood and Shady Grove. In 1876, the property at the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Studley Road was purchased to be used as the Parsonage for this new Circuit.
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The Reverend J.S. Crowder |
Tradition says the first Shady Grove building was a one-room meeting hall. In 1861, the building was replaced with a frame building which was used during the Civil War as a Union Hospital during the Battle of Mechanicsville. During the war, this building was under fire and many bullets were found in the boards when it was torn down around 1923. In 1881, a sanctuary with a vestibule was completed and furnished at the cost of $1,400 plus, “considerable hauling and work done by the brethren and friends.” In 1885, the cemetery property was purchased, and a room was added on each side of the sanctuary in 1897.
In 1919, Greenwood, having grown in membership, became a station appointment leaving Shady Grove, Enon and Lebanon as the Hanover Circuit until 1951. When the membership of Shady Grove had grow to over 300, the Virginia Conference made Shady Grove a station appointment and assigned The Reverend J. S. Crowder as its first fulltime minister.
In 1923 additional classroom space was added in back of the pulpit. In 1935, electricity was installed and in 1941 a two-story building was erected and joined to the existing church to provide more space for the needs of the growing congregation.
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Frame Church |
When Shady Grove became a station in 1951, it had to provide a home for its minister. In one calendar year, they raised $12,000 which was added to the $6,500 from the sale of their interest in the circuit parsonage formerly owned with Enon and Lebanon. This provided the money necessary to build a fine brick parsonage, completely furnished and free of debt. The membership at this time was 375.
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First Shady Grove Parsonage |
In January 1956, the church suffered extensive fire damage. The congregation met at Washington Henry High School while the church was being repaired. Already too small for the growing congregation, the fire damaged hastened a decision to build a new, modern facility on the church owned property across the highway from the seventy-five year old building. The caretaker’s home which was on the property was torn down with the help of the youth and the wood was used to build a garage at the parsonage. During 1957-59, Hanover Public Schools used the frame building to house grades 1 and 2.
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Brick Building |
The new church building was furnished and completed and first service were held on December 24, 1957. Under the leadership of The Reverend Robert F. Bryan, the regular financial obligations were met, and the indebtedness on the building was paid in advance of the set schedule. By 1961, the church and the community had grown rapidly, and this accelerated growth prompted construction to the existing building of an education wing which was consecrated in September, 1963. In 1975, a multi-purpose building now know as the Wade Gym was constructed. It housed classrooms, meeting rooms, a kitchen, stage, fellowship hall and indoor basketball court.
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Current building with additions |
In 1986, a second parsonage was built on Lee Davis Road. Both have consequently been sold. Shady Grove completed an addition to the building which expanded the education building to house Kitty’s Kids, our weekday school and childcare ministry, and additional meeting rooms and classrooms. It also houses the Youth Center complete with pool, foosball and air hockey tables; state of the art sound system, wii games and wireless capability.
As in its beginnings, Shady Grove continues to be a viable force in the Mechanicsville community. With more than 1300 members, its many programs and ministries serve an ever-widening circle of friends and neighbors.
Come join us!
| 1852-53 |
Jeremiah McMullan |
1896-97 |
G.G. McFadden |
1945-46 |
C.A. York |
| 1853-54 |
G.W. Nolley |
1898 |
R.B. Scott |
1947-50 |
Herman M. Elam |
| 1855-56 |
T.A. Pierce |
1899 |
W.R. Smithey |
1951-54 |
JosephS. Crowder |
| 1857-58 |
R.T. Nixon |
1899-01 |
C.W. Leftwich |
1955 |
John Kellington |
| 1859-60 |
L.L. Clarke |
1902 |
J.M. Anderson |
1956-60 |
Robert F. Bryan |
| 1861-62 |
D.P. Wills |
1903-06 |
J.L. Pribble |
1961-65 |
John F. Carroll |
| 1863-64 |
W.G. Lumpkin |
1907-09 |
J.D. Forkner |
1966-67 |
Herman M. Elam |
| 1865 |
T.H. Hayes |
1910 |
W.R. Crowder |
1968-72 |
Henry M. Matthews |
| 1866-67 |
W.W. Berry |
1911-14 |
H.L. Weston |
1972-79 |
A. Woodrow Laine |
| 1868-69 |
W.H. Hopkins |
1915-19 |
W.S. Deyerle |
1979-83 |
Joseph F. White |
| 1870-72 |
J.R. Waggener |
1920-23 |
H.H. Smith |
1983-87 |
W. Michael Nobles |
| 1873 |
J.E. Potts |
1924-25 |
S.B. Williams |
1987-88 |
Ted E. Davis |
| 1874-76 |
J.B. Laurens |
1926 |
R.N. Hartness |
1988-91 |
E. Howard Satterwhite |
| 1877-79 |
W.G. Williams |
1927-28 |
H.W. Landrum |
1991-96 |
Joseph T. Carson,Jr. |
| 1880-82 |
R.N. Crooks |
1929 |
J.F. Osborne |
1996-05 |
John N. Vest |
| 1883-86 |
C.H. Boggs |
1930-32 |
T.W. Ogden |
2005- |
J. Brooke Willson |
| 1887-90 |
M.S. Colomma |
1933-34 |
S.W. Wilkinson |
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| 1891 |
J.H. Dalby |
1935-37 |
R.A. Craig |
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| 1892 |
J. R. Griffith |
1938-41 |
C.D. Coffey |
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| 1893-95 |
W.T. Williams |
1942-44 |
L.E. Beauchamp |
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