First of a three-part series

FOR SOME 330 YEARS, worship services have been held on a modest hill in North Stafford County. Official parish and county records have been lost to fires and war and the earliest history of this special place is long forgotten. This year, Overwharton Parish is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the unique building standing sentinel upon that hill--Aquia Episcopal Church.

Though it was conceived in the fires of controversy and political influence, Aquia has been lovingly protected by generations of Staffordians and remains unequaled in Colonial architectural design.

In 1664, Stafford was divided from Westmoreland County and included all that land above upper Machotic Creek (now King George County). The new county of Stafford was divided into two parishes, initially referred to simply as the "upper" and "lower" parishes. These eventually assumed the names of Overwharton and Chotank.

The unusual name "Overwharton" is thought to have originated with an early settler, Col. Henry Meese, who named his plantation after his native parish, Over Worton, in North Oxfordshire, England. This plantation, presently in King George County, is now known as Waugh Point.

The first major church within the present bounds of Stafford was Potomac Church, located a few miles southeast of the present Stafford Courthouse. Constructed in the 1660s, Potomac was one of the largest churches in Colonial Virginia, measuring 60 by 80 feet. Arched windows allowed light into the building and, like later Aquia Church, the texts of the Law, Lord's Prayer, and Creed were painted above the altar (despite the fact that most people were unable to read).

Potomac Church was in regular use from the time of its erection until it was abandoned around 1804. During the War of 1812, marauding British soldiers caused considerable damage to this venerable old building, but it remained standing until being completely dismantled by Federal troops who used the brick and stone to construct a railroad bridge across nearby Potomac Creek.