Grace Church (Ca Ira, Virginia)
| Grace Church | |
|---|---|
Front view of the church, taken in October, 2008
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Ca Ira, Virginia |
| Geographic coordinates | 37°29′00″N 78°19′44″W / 37.4833°N 78.3289°WCoordinates: 37°29′00″N 78°19′44″W / 37.4833°N 78.3289°W |
| Affiliation | Episcopal Church in the United States of America |
| Municipality | Littleton Parish |
| State | Virginia |
| Country | United States of America |
| Year consecrated | 1843 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Parish church |
| Status | Rarely used |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places |
| Website | none |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Dabney Cosby |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| General contractor | Valentine Parrish |
| Groundbreaking | 1840 |
| Completed | 1843 |
| Materials | Brick |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | October 30, 1980 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 80004185 |
Grace Church (sometimes called Grace Episcopal Church) is an Episcopal church in Cumberland County, Virginia. Designed by Dabney Cosby, a former assistant to Thomas Jefferson, it is the only substantial building remaining from the former community of Ca Ira. For its architectural and historical significance, Grace Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 1980.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, Ca Ira was a typical small farming community such as could be found in many locations around Virginia. It was formally established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1796; the origin of the name is unknown, but given the spirit of the times, and the fact that many Virginians admired the French Revolution, it is suspected to have been derived from a popular French song of the era. By 1836, Ca Ira could be described as a post village, with a population of 210; it had forty dwellings, three stores, a mill, a tobacco warehouse, two taverns, and a Masonic hall.
Construction of Grace Church was begun in 1840; the original deed to its location was described in the Cumberland County Deed Book of 1843 as
a certain lot or parcel or ground adjoining the town of Ca Ira on the West, and bounded as follows. Orig. on the South by the Main road from
Ca Ira to Buckingham Ct. House, West by the line separating it from McAshan's Old Stemmery Lot, on which the fence now runs North by the road leading into said stemmery and, East by the Western Crop Street of the town of Ca Ira, it
Immediately upon its completion, it began serving not only the populace of the town itself but also those families, many prominent in local affairs, that owned the surrounding plantations. Among those known to be part of the congregation of the church was Valentine Parrish, who not only donated the land on which it stood, but served as the builder for the project. The architect was Dabney Cosby, who had worked with Thomas Jefferson on the construction of buildings at the University of Virginia. This was not the first time that Cosby and Parrish had worked together; the two were listed together as co-architects on the cornerstone of the 1826 Goochland County Courthouse in nearby Goochland. Parrish was among the most prominent citizens in Cumberland County in the years leading up to the Civil War; he presented numerous petitions on the subject of local tolls to the Virginia General Assembly, and also made numerous suggestions regarding the distribution of economic aid to the county. Woodwork and framing on the church is said to have been the work of one Albert Mann, a slave attached to the Parrish plantation; construction of the church was overseen by Rev. Henry Kinckle.
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