Project update – Nov. 28, 2023
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
The good news, as the photo gallery here reveals, is that progress has been made in clearing out the fallen debris throughout the Church loft (living quarters) and the ground floor open space.
The less good news is that the weather forecast for our region predict a wetter than normal winder season and there is still a gaping hole in the roof of the Church. Our next major challenge will be remove the existing roof joists damaged or destroyed in the fire in order to construct a temporary roof structure to protect the building from the winter weather.
Preliminary assessment indicates the Steeple and Bell Tower might be able to be restored in place once the rest of the roof structure is replaced, which will be a major effort in and of itself.
SOS.org is conversing with various resources and individuals as to the next step in restoration and renovation. Any individuals, institutions, corporations, or business that might have the interest and finances to take on the restoration and/or ownership of the Old Stone Church are encouraged to contact us (as pro-bono intermediaries for the current owner) to discuss possibilites at info@SaveOurSteeple.org.
Chip Beck
Matt Danielson
Nov. 28, 2023
Read about it.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
A fire at Hillsboro’s Methodist Episcopal Church – South was started by spark created by a contractor while attempting to cut a nail during a restoration project. The spark ignited the insulation inside the ceiling of the two-story structure and quickly filled the first floor with smoke and flames.
The two building occupants were able to evacuate the building unharmed.
Fire and rescue units from Loudoun Heights, Purcellville, Round Hill, Hamilton, Leesburg and Lovettsville were dispatched to the scene but, by the time they had arrived, the fire had already burned through the roof of the building causing over $600,000 in damages. The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire was accidental.
The building is currently classified by Loudoun County as a two bedroom, 1 bath residence with an assessed value of $387,190 in 2022. Zillow estimated the home value at $464,300 prior to the fire.
Address:
36945 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro, VA 20132
STAFF REPORT – January 3, 2023
A bit of history.
Hillsboro’s former Methodist Episcopal Church – South is a two-story, stone building built on land donated to the Baltimore Southern Methodist Methodist Conference by Jonas Potts, Hillsboro’s blacksmith, in 1852.
The church played a significant role in Hillsboro prior to and during the Civil War as differences in opinion over the war split Loudoun’s Methodist Church and the Hillsboro community. The church first opened for services in 1858 and was continually operated as a house of worship until 1971.
The basement of the church was used at one time as a dormitory for students from Josiah Potts’s private school located next door.
The fine simplicity of the old church has been relatively unchanged over the years. The first floor includes a two-story congregation space with a raised dais and a second floor atrium overlooking the worship space below. In addition to the distinctive fieldstone exterior walls, the building features hand-hewn chestnut beams and original lath and plaster walls inside. The building backs up to Catoctin creek to the south of the property.
Since 1971 the building housed a variety of antique and gift shops. It was purchased in 2017 for residential use by its Don Hawkins and Cynthia Elliott who were living in the building at the time of the fire.
Sadly, Don succumbed to his fight with cancer on Thursday, Oct. 12 this year.
Why bother?
The Methodist Church is located along Charles Town Pike in Northwest Loudoun County where Rt. 9 bends towards the West Virginia. For over 150 years Its iconic steeple has stood as an easily an identifiable landmark welcoming travelers along Rt. 9 from the east and west.
Now approaching the first anniversary of the fire, the building continues to be exposed to the elements and is beginning to deteriorate. If something is not done soon, Hillsboro will lose this historic structure forever.
Saving the Methodist Church is going to be an enormous challenge requiring a community effort.
We're looking for your help.
If you care about preserving Hillsboro history and can volunteer your time, expertise or generosity, we hope you'll join us and let is know how you might be able to help.
Tasks ahead.
We're not naive. We recognize that the challenges in protecting and preserving this historic landmark are daunting. We believe, however, that if our community does not act, Hillsboro will soon lose this important historic and architectural asset.
We hope that with support from our neighbors we can take small, incremental steps today to make a difference for tomorrow and Save Our Steeple for future generations.
Can you help?
List of Services
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Save the books.List Item 1
The current owner has an extensive and rare book collection in the basement of the Old Stone Church. We're currently seeking volunteers for a weekend event to assist in moving that collection to a safe envirtonment as soon as possible.
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Clear the debris.List Item 2
Before any restoration can begin the debris inside the structure needs to be removed. Early estimates for such a task ranged from $30 to $50,000 and will require patience from neighbors in town and commuters who travel through Hillsboro.
CONTRACTORS: Can you help? Are you interested in leaning more about the scope of this project?
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Partner with an existing 501c3
We're looking for an existing non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and protect historic structures in order to raise money for our effort. Are you currently involved in such an organization? If so, please contact us below for more information about our progress.
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Cover the roof.List Item 3
Despite a dry summer, the elements are already taking a toll on the structural integrity of the building. If we are successful in achieving our first two objectives, we hope to install a tempoary roof on the building before the 2023-24 winter season.
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Preserve and protect.List Item 4
Our ultimate objective is to preserve and protect this historic landmark for future generations and hope you agree that's important. How we get from here to here a bit unclear now. We're open to any and all ideas.
Who we are.
We are not affiliated with The Town of Hillsboro or any organized non-profit at this time. We're just a group of concerned citizens who want to do whatever we can to save this important building. If we don't know you already, we hope to meet you soon and learn what we, as a community, can do together to make a difference. We're looking for ideas, expertise and support.
Friends of
The Old Stone Church
Join us.
In the next few weeks we're planning a variety of volunteer events and outreach efforts to help bring attention to this project and we're interested in your ideas. Send us an email and we'll keep you up-to-date in our efforts and upcoming programs. We'll only contact you when we have something that we think you'll be interested in.
To make a direct contribution now, visit our GoFundMe page using the link here.
