7. Needstan Creek

Church congregations, just like church buildings, have a history. The people who attend a church may be connected by shared location, family allegiance, or generational connections as much as they are by commitment to a particular denomination, theology, or doctrine. History can also divide communities. These divisions may result from theological disputes, organizational changes, or personal disagreements. In Virginia, and in the United States more generally, divisions in churches may also reflect divisions between the races. Two churches in central Virginia along route 76 illustrate how deeply race has shaped religion in the past as well as the present. Ebenezer Baptist Church and Mount Olivet Baptist Church are located just one mile apart on Coatesville Road. This division between two Baptist churches has its origins more than one hundred and fifty years ago, following the Civil War, and has remained in place ever since. The origins and legacies of this split reveal a great deal about religion in Virginia history and in the present. This episode is connected to the location where the route crosses Needstan Creek, located just over 110 miles from Yorktown, the starting point for the westbound route, and nearly 44 miles from the Kentucky border, where eastbound riders enter Virginia.