Our History
We invite you to explore the many stories in the articles, photos, and videos below. Discover Shiloh’s rich history dating back to 1856, when God and the church were the center of every activity of their lives. Learn about the labors of our leaders and members, the good times and the bad times, how Shiloh broke away from Hanover Baptist Church, the battle between the Test Party and the Anti-Test Party, and how it all came to a head. Thankfully, church clerks, such as J. Cleveland Grigsby, the longest serving clerk, documented our lively history, archived at the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, University of Richmond. The words of J. Cleveland Grigsby are as appropriate today as they were when he wrote them for the 100th anniversary of Shiloh.
“When we scan the list of pastors and members who have labored at Shiloh and whose influence is felt today this should be an incentive and inspiration to those of us who are living to hold up the torch of religion and keep His banner aloft and to perpetuate and keep going what our forefathers started for us. The memory of the writer is crowded with the names of the noble and faithful brethren and sisters who worked at Shiloh in years gone by and who left a wonderful heritage behind them. May we who are the Shiloh of today never allow ourselves to get into a state of complacency or allow His banner to drag in the dust. Servants of God, well done Blest be thy new employ And while eternal ages roll Rest in thy Saviour’s joy.”
- J. Cleveland Grigsby
J. Cleveland Grigsby, Clerk of Shiloh Baptist Church from 1916 to 1956 (photo courtesy of Keith Dishman)
McGinniss-Grigsby Family, circa 1905. Standing (l to r) Betty, Cleveland, Lily, and Edna Grigsby. Sitting (l to r) Andrew Hampton McGinniss ( Alice Howland’s father), Elizabeth Diane (Grigsby) McGinniss (1849-1927), Samuel Andrew McGinniss (1844-1912), and Richard Irvin McGinniss, Sr. (father of Richard, Grafton, Merle, and Ralph McGinniss) (photo courtesy of Keith McGinniss)
(l to r) Clifton Jenkins (little boy), Julian Jenkins, Hunter Grigsby, and Thomas Arnold, Sr., stand in front of the old Shiloh Church. The other gentlemen are unknown. (photo courtesy of Elizabeth Lee)
The original Shiloh Baptist Church structure was built in 1856 and destroyed by a tornado in 1948. The current structure was completed in 1950.
Rev. J. Horace Newbill, pastor, 1901-1915 (photo courtesy of Mary Burnley Owens)
Rev. W. E. Warren performs baptisms at Port Conway, located on the north side of the Rappahannock in King George, Virginia. Port Conway is also the birthplace of President James Madison. (photo courtesy of Rev. Warren’s granddaughter, Marjorie Warren Stevens)
Skyline Drive trip in 1947, sponsored by the Baptist Training Union. (front, l to r) Garnett Jenkins, Wesley White, Patsy (White) Warwick, Clifton Jenkins, and Frank Edwards; (back) Dorothy Scott, Stanley and Mary Burnley (Peed) Owens, Lee Frank, Gertrude and Warren Rollins, Richard McGinniss, and Mary Lou (Frank) Carroll.
Give me that old-time religion
…and those old songs of yesteryear. Hymnal used by Shiloh Church, 1926 (courtesy of Bob Baird)
