| Who We Are: Our History |
St. John the Baptist
has the distinction of being the first of some thirty
mountain missions
in what became the Archdeaconry of the Blue Ridge.
Come visit the church, meet
the friendly congregation, and see the beautiful
buildings!
All who wish are invited to worship with us at 10 a.m.
Sunday mornings.
Click here for Maps and Directions
In December 1889, The Reverend Frederick Neve, the rector of Emmanuel, Greenwood, formulated a plan for a church mission for the residents who lived five to ten miles southwest of his church in Ivy.
Samuel White donated an acre of land on which the new church was built. The building cost came to $716.42. The money was raised by a working society of women from St. Paul's-Ivy and Emmanuel, Greenwood. Most of the furniture and books for the church were donated by the community.
Reverend Neve named the church St.
John the Baptist because St. John "came
before" Christ. He was planning to build more
churches
in the area, and expected this to be the first of many.
Therefore, this church would "come before" the
others.
Reverend Neve eventually was recognized as the Archdeacon
of the Blue Ridge.
The church was dedicated on
All Saints Day, 1890, with more than 120 people
in attendance.
...The Original Church
building....
The
church served the mountain community for thirty years
before a fieldstone structure replacement was
erected in 1930.
Mary Lee Fleming donated $10,000 toward
the building of the new structure.
A plaque on the back wall of the church commemorates her
vision and contribution.
...The altar and pulpit are crafted of
white quartz ...
The white quartz was obtained
locally. It is unusual to find white quartz in such large
pieces.
The rock mason for the new church was Dave Sullivan. He
was paid $3.00 a day, and his helpers received fifty
cents a day.
...The Church
then and now...
The church is one of the largest and most beautiful of the many
fieldstone edifices typical of the Archdeaconry. The consecration
of the new church took place on St. Barnabas
Day, June 11, 1931, with Bishop Goodwin
in attendance.
On November 9, 1931, the old wooden
structure was deconsecrated for church use but
re-consecrated for Christian Social Service.
The original structure was moved to Blackwell Hollow
where it was used as a church from 1932-48.
It is now part of Adventure Bound School, where it serves
as a dormitory.
The Rectory was built in 1900..
and is still
used today
The Parish Hall was built in 1947, 
then
expanded in 2002.
The right side of the building was the original Parish
Hall. The expansion tripled the usable space.
In 1985, St. John's became a Diocesan Mission in the Diocese of Virginia .
St. John the Baptist is located in Ivy, in Albemarle County, on Route 637, 3 miles south of its junction with I-64
Reverend Neve's grave is in the cemetery of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Ivy, where he first served in this area.