The Christmas ornament at the right is a slate roof section from one of the most historic churches in Northern Virginia.
Old Presbyterian Meeting House on South Fairfax Street in the City of Alexandria was chartered as a Presbyteian congregation in 1772 . The sanctuary you see pictured was built in 1775.
The front steps were the highest review point in Alexandria. It was on these steps that General George Washington made his farewell review of his troops as they paraded past.
One of the buildings on the church grounds that was built in 1787 is Flounder House - it was the parsonage. There are only a few of the flounder style homes remaining in Alexandria.
The tomb of The Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution is in the church cemetery as is the tomb of Washington's physician, Dr. Craik
Additionally, The Meeting house was the site of the memorial service for President Washington.
The sanctuary was gutted by fire in 1835 and reconstructed in its' present configuration
My husband and I were members of the congregation in the late 1970's and early 1980's.
The structure of the roof had deteriorated over the years and was in dire need of repair. The repair involved the removal of a substantial number of the roof slates. A local artist was commissioned to turn them into Christmas ornaments and sold to the members of the congregation as commemorative pieces. The angle at the right hand top corner is not breakage. The cut we were told is part of the process of laying a slate roof.
Arthur and I treasure that piece of slate as it reminds us of the years we sat in the sanctuary and recalled the history that made the building a national treasure. My husband was head usher for an extended period of time and he felt so proud to think he was participating as early patriots had participated in the life of the church.
The two sanctuary pictures in this post were taken from the church website and used with permission.
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