Annandale Chamber of Commerce - Annandale - the Crossroads of Northern Virginia

Annandale United Methodist Church

6935 Columbia Pike, Annandale

By M. Callahan

The original church was built in 1846 on land deeded by William Garges. One of the original trustees was Alfred Moss owner of Green Spring Manor and Farm. Popular lore tells that the original church was used as a Union hospital during the Civil War although no documentation can be found to substantiate it. It is known from an 1862 engraving from Harper’s Bazaar that Union Troops did encamp on the grounds following the 2nd Battle of Bull Run. During that winter they partially destroyed the building by removing some wood planks for firewood.

Two years later the church was burned to the ground by Union troops. Legend claims that the order was carried out by Sgt. Elhanan Wakefield who later atoned for this tragedy by helping to rebuild this church. It is known he later contributed his carpentry skills to build Wakefield Chapel and preach from that pulpit. Both he and his wife are buried in the cemetery of the Annandale Methodist Church which is the church she attended growing up.

The cemetery registry lists: Rev. Elhanan W. Wakefield: 1834-1920 (2nd Mass Calvary 1863-1865), Mary Tennison Wakefield: 1842-1907 wife of Rev. E.W. Wakefield, and Harry Harold Wakefield: May 3, 1886-Oct. 5, 1959 son of Rev. Elhanan Wakefield.

(Editors note: Only one source reports this story about Rev. Wakefield leading the troops that burned the Annandale Methodist Church and later returned to rebuild it. No sources are cited in this story nor do all the claims match up with contemporary evidence. It is known that Wakefield served in the Union Army and certainly came through Annandale during his service.  It is known that he was nursed in Annandale by his bride-to-be following his discharge from the Army. Based on his dates of enlistment, hospitalization and recovery for wounds suffered during battle, and discharge from the Army it is not possible that he was on the raid that burned the church. No actual interview or newspaper report can be found documenting this raid or Wakefield’s role in spite of the fact that he continued to live in Annandale for 56 years following the War and was interviewed often by various local papers.)

The small white frame and clapboard church seen today was built by Thomas Walker between 1868 and 1870 slightly north and east of the original with a balcony for African American worshippers. By 1880 the first public school in Annandale was in the basement of this building. In 1907 at the cost of $500 the belfry, pulpit and vestibule were added by Rev. Lowell Wakefield and John Cock. A year later the Ladies Aid Society donated the heavy bell for the steeple (now on display outside the building). From then until 1923 it became Annandale’s only fire alarm and last tolled on VJ day 1945. It was removed 12 years later when the aging louvered belfry could no longer support the weight. In 1912 the small white building beside this chapel was built. It has served as everything from a community hall with a stage for performances and presentations to a scout hall for Boy Scout Troop 150, the oldest troop in Fairfax County.

In 1946, one hundred years after the construction of the original building, the large brick church at the top of the hill was dedicated on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Lynch. Additions were added in 1956 and again in 1966. Adjacent to the church is a cemetery containing over 100 headstones. The oldest gravestone is that of Susan Fretz Garges who died on September 11, 1828. She and others were most probably originally buried in family cemeteries and then reinterred in this church ground once the church was built. Twice the Little White Church has required major renovations. The first occurred in 1973 due to general deterioration. The second significant renovation took place in 2003 when a car smashed into the building.

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