Butterwood United Methodist Church, Virginia Main Street Communities: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary

Butterwood United Methodist Church
Photo courtesy of Downtown Blackstone, Inc.

Butterwood United Methodist Church of Blackstone sits in a rural setting surrounded by woods and farmland. The building is a handsome and well preserved example of the simple, Carpenter Gothic style dating from ca. 1866-67. The church and its cemetery also have important associations with the creation of Camp Pickett Military Reservation at the beginning of World War II and its impact on the community.

The congregation of the church descends from the Bristol Parish of the Church of England that was established around 1729, part of which became Bath Parish in Dinwiddie County in 1742. Devereux Jarratt became rector of Bath Parish in 1763. He was a famous preacher, part of the Great Awakening in Virginia. He was tolerant toward dissidents unhappy with the Church of England who formed Methodist societies. The Butterwood congregation is descended from one of these Methodist societies. Initially there was no thought that the Methodists would separate from the Church of England, but at the time, religious revival was sweeping the country. The official organization of both the Protestant Episcopal Church of America and the Methodist Episcopal Church took place in 1784.

The history of the present church building begins with Henry Dickerson of Mecklenburg County. While traveling through Dinwiddie County, he found property in the community that he liked and bought a farm near Butterwood Church. His family became instrumental in revitalizing Butterwood Church, which they thought needed to be replaced with a better house of worship. Dickerson selected his neighbor William Randolph Atkinson to design and build the present church sanctuary that was completed in 1867 and enlarged in the mid-20th century.

As tensions grew with talk of American’s entrance into World War II, the Federal Government condemned 48,000 acres in Dinwiddie, Nottoway, and Brunswick counties in 1941 to establish Camp Pickett Military Reservation for a temporary military training ground. Camp Pickett Military Reservation became Fort Pickett. The government moved graves from two churches and many farms in the condemned area. Eight and a half acres surrounding Butterwood Church became the white cemetery and additional acres off Route 613 were selected for the African American cemetery.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reinterred the moved bodies. Re-interred graves from the Whites Chapel Methodist Church are located primarily in the west cemetery at Butterwood. Many of the graves are marked as unknown. Throughout the years the west cemetery has been well maintained, but the east side was somewhat neglected. In recent years, the entire cemetery has been well cared for, and new graves have been added. The Butterwood Methodist Church Trustees now manage the whole property. Today, the original one-acre church cemetery is on three sides of the church; surrounding it are approximately nine acres.

Inside the building, the original handmade benches, doors, and pulpit are still in use. The plastered walls and ceiling are said to provide excellent acoustics for singing. A large arched opening is located behind the pulpit. The details of the arch and its supporting posts are typical of many of the churches in Dinwiddie. The original Sunday school room has been set aside and is now dedicated as a history room.

Butterwood United Methodist Church is located off Rte. 40, opposite intersections Rtes . 643 and 40 outside of Blackstone near Darvills, VA in Dinwiddie County. The remains from the cemetery of Poplar Lawn Baptist Church and home cemeteries of African American families can be found just off Route 613 about two miles south of Rte. 40. Tourism information can be found at the Blackstone Chamber of Commerce website, or by calling 434-292-1677. The Town of Blackstone website also contains relevant and helpful information.

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