Blandford Church

Blandford Church (c. 1800)

Blandford Church (2014)

Site Name: Blandford Church (The Brick Church on Welles Hill)

Date of Construction: 1737

Reason for Construction: Built to replace Ferry Chapel by order of the governor after the fall of two other area churches.

Site History: Blandford Church has become famous for the adjoining cemetery which houses around 30,000 Confederate soldiers from Virginia and other Confederate states. The church has miraculously survived many disasters that brought other area monuments to their end. After the eighteenth century, it experienced neglect and decay caused by the town of Blandford becoming part of Petersburg and the presence of another area church. In 1901, the Ladies Memorial Association made the decision to preserve the church as a Confederate Memorial. Today, the church and cemetery are two of the biggest tourist attractions in Petersburg. Tours are provided on the grounds for five dollars with a special tour at night on Halloween.

Area History: The original Blandford area was absorbed into the Petersburg area in 1748. Blandford was a center for tobacco trade but gave way to Glasgow, Virginia. On April 25, 1781, British troop were led to the Blandford area where they engaged in battle with the Virginia militia in what became known as the “Battle of Petersburg (Crater).”

What about the site has changed?: The site has had many minor changes in its physical appearance over the years, many of which were not structural. In 1904, the churches windows were redone to honor both God and Confederate soldiers. There is often protest when change is suggested.

What about the surrounding area has changed?: There have not been many changes in the Petersburg area. There are more and more house built around the church as people move to the city. Also, the architecture of the house, while still aged, are more modern than that of the houses around the church when it was first erected in 1737.

Reflection: I have learned that Blandford church was used as a hospital during the Civil War. I also learned a lot about research. You can learn a lot by analyzing the changes in pictures of sites. There are also more primary resources available to me than I realized.

Sources:

"Blandford Church." Dinwiddie Co. Genweb. Last modified July 28, 2006. Accessed

    March 30, 2014. http://www.vagenweb.org/dinwiddie/cemetery-blandford/

"Blandford Church." Virginia Tourism Corporation. Last modified March 13, 2013. Accessed March

    22, 2014. http://www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/BlandfordChurch

    church-history.htm.

Davis, Robert P. "The Revolutionary War Battle of Petersburg Va." Lecture

    transcript, Sons of the American Revolution, Richmond, Virginia, April

    2003.

"Survey report, Old Blandford Church." Last modified June 2, 1937. PDF.         http://image.lva.virginia.gov/VHI/html/08/0284.html

Author: La-Kiesha Hobbs