Old Stone Church at Greenspring
The Old Stone Church sits on the top of a knoll overlooking the Frederick County countryside. George and Elizabeth Schwires donated the land for a church and burial ground in 1820. Elizabeth was the daughter of Martin and Catherine Fries, who migrated from Pennsylvania around 1789. They leased the land to build a school to a Board of Trustees, and it was built in
1820. It was later rebuilt in its present form in 1838. Today the church contains the original pulpit and slat backed wooden benches. The school is located in an 18 ft. section separated from the church by a pine partition. The original principal’s desk and early Franklin type stove are still in the room. Lutheran Synod records indicate they sent preachers to the Old Stone Church and authorized leasing it to the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1869. In 1927 Cora Bell Crim led in a reclamation project of the cemetery which had become overgrown with weeds. She was instrumental in founding the Old Stone Church Memorial Association whose objective was to preserve and maintain the church and cemetery. Several generous contributions have enabled the Association to acquire additional acres of land, build a new shelter, and pave a road leading to the church. The Association administers the use and upkeep of the church, shelter, and cemetery and the sale of burial plots ($500). The Association meets once a year at
the third Saturday August Reunion
• In 2000 the Virginia Department of Historical Resources gave the Old Stone Church the “Virginia Historical Landmark “ designation, and the church was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior in 2001.
• A marker was placed at the entrance to the farm where the church is located and the road through the farm was paved.
