This church cemetery surrounds the old church building on the west side of Ox Road (Route 123) near its intersection with Popes Head Road (Route 654), at 5420-5424 Ox Road. A new church building stands at the rear of the cemetery. The charming old church building is still used occasionally and is in good condition. A bronze plaque on the front of the building carries the emblem of the Daughters of the American Revolution and reads: "placed by Providence Chapter, NSDAR. 1985. Site of Payne's Church, Church of England ..... 1768." The brick structure known as "Payne's Church" was built in 1768 by Edward Payne for Truro Parish, according to the 1969 Historic American Buildings Survey. The church building went unused after the American Revolution and the disbandment of the Church of England as the state church. When the Jerusalem Church of Jesus Christ was organized in 1840, the congregation met in the old brick structure.



According to "History of the Jerusalem Baptist Church, 1840­1990," by D'Anne A. Evans (1990), the church building was used by Baptists as early as 1800, perhaps by the Mt. pleasant congregation whose organizer and pastor was James Reid. Jerusalem Baptist Church may have been formed from Mt. Pleasant's congregation during the Baptists' dispute over missions at about the time Jerusalem was organized. Lovell Marders, an heir to James Reid's estate, was the first pastor of Jerusalem. The buildings survey states that the brick church was demolished during the Civil War by Union soldiers who used the bricks for chimneys in their nearby camps, citing "The History of Truro Parish in Virginia," by George W. Jacobs (1908) as its source.



This well-maintained cemetery dates back to the time of Payne's Church, according to the buildings survey. In addition to the many gravestones scattered about the cemetery, there are several standing, uninscribed slate markers, some wooden markers, and many fieldstones. A few gravestones are in the bushes at the rear of the cemetery. The gravestones in the cemetery have been read several times: in 1924, 1955, 1973, 1977, 1988, 1993, 1994, and 2006. Lee Hubbard, church historian, knows a great deal about the cemetery, its burials -- both marked and unmarked -- and about the history of the church. He is willing to share his knowledge and can be reached at 703-273-7776, or in care of the church.



Fairfax County Cemetery Survey Number: FX017; Virginia State Archaeological Number: 44FX1177