Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
October 30, 2024

Contact:
Ivy Tan
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.tan@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445

State Historical Marker Dedicated for Polegreen Church “Dissenters’ Glebe” in Hanover County

—The marker recalls the home of the prominent 18th-century Presbyterian leader Rev. Samuel Davies—

—Text of marker reproduced below—

PLEASE NOTE: DHR creates markers not to “honor” their subjects but rather to educate and inform the public about a person, place, or event of regional, state, or national importance. In this regard, erected markers are not memorials.

RICHMOND – A state historical marker approved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) was dedicated this weekend in Hanover County for the “glebe”—or the farm and residence—of the Rev. Samuel Davies, first pastor of the historic Polegreen Church. Davies was an influential Presbyterian minister who became a leader in Virginia during the Great Awakening in the South in the 18th century.

The dedication ceremony was held Sunday, November 3, at 2 p.m., in the sanctuary of New Hanover Presbyterian Church, located at 10058 Chamberlayne Road in Mechanicsville (23116). The dedication was held in conjunction with a celebration of Davies’s 301st birthday. The organizers dubbed the event “Birthday 301 on Route 301.” The event was open to the public.

The dedication program opened with an invocation led by Dr. Evans White, the pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Aylett, followed by welcoming remarks from Dave Fuller, president of the Historic Polegreen Church Board; Christy Presseau, ruling elder and host on behalf of The Session and New Hanover Presbyterian Church; and Dr. Jennifer Loux, DHR Highway Marker Program manager. Bob Giles, vice president of the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation Board, initiated a tribute to the Rev. Samuel Davies. The following guests also spoke at the ceremony: Art Taylor, former president of the Hanover County Historical Society and a 2024 recipient of The Patrick Henry Leadership Award; Anne Geddy Cross, author of “The Dissenters Glebe,” published in the Hanover County Historical Society Bulletin in 2003; Amber Hawkins, chair of the Hanover 250 Committee; Tommy Nance, author of America’s Forerunner, a biography on Davies’s life; and the Rev. Susan Steinberg, pastor at the Providence Presbyterian Church in Gum Spring. A birthday reception and the marker unveiling commenced after the ceremony’s conclusion.

The glebe for Polegreen Church in Hanover County was a farm and residence built during the 1700s for the church’s first pastor, the Rev. Samuel Davies. Born in Delaware in 1723, Davies became a leader of the Great Awakening in the South, a major religious movement that occurred starting in the early 18th century. Polegreen Church was composed of a congregation of Presbyterians dissenting from the Church of England, the established church in the colony of Virginia. Davies served as Polegreen’s pastor for more than 10 years beginning in 1748. He was known as a powerful orator who gained converts, founded churches, defended the rights of dissenters, and even influenced the oratorical style of Patrick Henry. Although Davies was a slaveholder, he worked to spread literacy among enslaved people and converted many to Christianity. In 1759 Davies left Virginia to become president of what is now Princeton University. He died in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1761 at age 37.

The Virginia Board of Historic Resources, which is authorized to designate new state historical markers, approved the manufacture and installation of the marker for the “Dissenters’ Glebe” of the Rev. Samuel Davies in September 2023. The Historic Polegreen Church Foundation, the marker’s sponsor, covered its manufacturing costs.

Virginia’s historical highway marker program began in 1927 with installation of the first markers along U.S. Route 1. It is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 state markers, mostly maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.

Full Text of Marker:

The “Dissenters’ Glebe” of the Rev. Samuel Davies

Just west was Polegreen Church’s 18th-century glebe, a farm and residence provided for the benefit of its pastor. Polegreen was a congregation of Presbyterians dissenting from Virginia’s established Church of England. The Rev. Samuel Davies (1723-1761), a leader of the Great Awakening in the South, was Polegreen's first pastor (1748-1759). A powerful orator, he gained converts, founded churches, defended the rights of dissenters, and influenced the oratorical style of Patrick Henry. Although holding at least two people in slavery, he worked to spread literacy among enslaved people, converting many to Christianity. Davies died at the age of 37 while president of what is now Princeton University.

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