| History of Ambrose Chapel |
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| In 1797 William Henry Ambrose who lived near Bath, Virginia (present day Berkeley Springs, West Virginia) deeded one acre of land for a free meeting house on his 200 acre farm. Shortly there after a small meeting house was built on the property for anyone who would speak the gospel of Jesus Christ. During this time there were many people who spoke the word but there was no full time preacher. Typically the circuit riders would be the regular ministers. These circut riders were usually Methodist and it is very likely that John Wesley preached there. After William Henry's death he had not left his land to anyone, so one of his son's and a fellow by the name of Michael bought the land and split it between themselves. They also had the church to deal with so they set up a board of trustee's to govern the church in 1846. In 1851 for a whoping sum of around $300 a new church was built. Apparently the old church burned down, although no record exists of an such fire. But, then again there is really no record of the previous church at all. Between 3rd and the 6th of January 1862, while Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was on his infamous Bath/Romney Campaign the chapel was used by his doctors to treat sick and or wounded soldiers. It is Possible that Jackson himself, or members of his staff prayed in the Chapel. But it is more possible that Dr. Hunter McGuire was in this church. After that the history get fuzzy again. Not much is know about the church other then it became Methodist Church and the congregation closed in the late 1920's or early 1930's. In the ealry 1950's the first effort to restore the church was made by Cecil Ambrose. There is some information telling about that he was going to restore it but no hard evidence he did anything. But there is some indication from the building itself it had been painted several times over the years, re-wallpapered, among a few other alterations. For example; carpet tacks found still tacked to the floor between pews indicateing that runners once covered the the space between pews. Also between the 1920's and 1960's many people have reported that they attended family reunions at the church, from many different families; including Ambrose's and Michael's. Also locals tell that when they were childern being taken to the church on Halloween night to be "scared". In the late 1980's a gentleman squatted in the church and was going to remodel it to live in, he was ran off by a family member of some of the souls burried in the cemetery. All he accomplished was cutting holes in the wall for panel boxes and electrical switches. Which made the interior restoration more difficult. In 1995 Brent and Sonjia Sherrard received owership of the church from the Methodist Conference for the Baltimore Washington area. They began restoring the church by working in the cemetery, and also replacing a aging roof, and wood siding on two sides of the church. also they had the church placed on the West Virginia and National Register's of Historic Places. Then in 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Sherrard got a divorce but wanted the church to be taken care of so they asked Robert Ambrose (8th Great Grandson of Henry) if he wanted it. He accecpted the gift, and in a little over a year the deed was signed over to him. In May 2004 Robert, and his family (Father Sterling, mother Kathy, Wife Christen, and son Chuckie) began working hard to maintain the cemetery, restore the inside of the church and finish the outside. Several friends and extended family also helped in the project; Jerry, Brian, and Steven Potter, Jay and Jess Waugh, Mike and Rae Keefer of Tree Works, George Miller, and Alston Yost. Phase One of the Restoration was completed in August 2004. The outside has a fresh coat of paint, the inside restored almost completely to its former self (as best as could be determined), windows repaired and the grave yard in good shape. On August 21, 2004 Union and Confederate Civil War Reenactors did and honor service at the Cemetery for Civil War Veterans, Revolutionary, and any other Veterans buried at the chapel. Around 30 Military and Civilian reenactors attended, along with a few spectators. The Church was opened up for a tour and history given by Robert Ambrose On September 4, 2004 Robert and his Fiance Christen were married there at 1pm in the afternoon. They were married in a Victorian/Civil War Style Service. Around 75 people were in attendance, for the churchs first service in possibly 70 or 80 years. Januray 9, 2005 the first actual Sunday service since the 1920's was held in honor of Jackson's Bath/Romney Campaign during the Civil War. About 15 people participated in the service with Rev. Randy Ours officiating. |
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