Saturday, August 15, 2026
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Voices of Freedom tour, part of the Virginia 250 programs celebrating the semiquincentennial of our country, features historic parishes in Hanover County including some Episcopal parishes. The tour begins with the original site of the Upper Church of St. Paul’s parish (now Slash Christian Church) and ends at The Fork Church, which is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year.
Other stops include Brown Grove Baptist Church, representing the Black congregations of Hanover County; Historic Polegreen Church, the center of the Dissenters movement, which laid the groundwork for the Great Awakening; the Old Chapel at Randolph-Macon College, and Scotchtown, which has a strong Quaker connection through the family of Dolley Payne Madison.
Re-enactors will be at each site talking about their roles in establishing religious freedom in the 18th century, which led to the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, which disestablished the Church of England in Virginia.