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Mt. Zion stands as a welcoming jewel in the historic town of Hedgesville, nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Prayers have ascended from Mt. Zion since it’s beginning as a log meeting house in the 1740s.

The log-meeting house that was to evolve into Mt. Zion Episcopal Church had its origins in the 1740s and was presumably named in reference to Solomon Hedges, a local sheriff for Frederick County. By 1752, a survey showed the Hedges Meeting House sitting on two and a half acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The years between 1740 and 1750 brought an end to the French and Indian Wars and a beginning of the English settlers’ buying large parcels of land in the Valley of Virginia. A young, sixteen year old named George Washington was surveying the Lord Fairfax lands in western Virginia.The small log church that was then Mt. Zion stood through this, the Revolutionary War and that same young surveyor becoming the new nation’s first president.

It is thought that President George Washington worshipped at Mt. Zion in 1784 after staying at the Snodgrass Tavern located along Back Creek and Hedgesville Road.

Always an intregal part of the fabric of the town, Mt. Zion has endured through the centuries. It was the scene of some very colorful events during the Civil War. Mt. Zion parishioners have served their country in every American war.

The current brick structure was erected in 1818-1819. Yet, while honoring the past, Mt. Zion is very much a vibrant church today that looks forward to continuing God’s service in the community with energy and passion.

Mt. Zion Episcopal Church continues it’s nearly 260 years of service to our Lord as it stands beside the road to welcome not only the parish family, but also the traveler passing by. All are welcome!
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