Near Broadway in Rockingham County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Trissels Mennonite Church

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 10, 2021

1. Trissels Mennonite Church Marker

Inscription. Mennonites first entered the northern Shenandoah Valley about 1730 and settled in present-day Rockingham and Augusta Counties by the 1770s. They initially worshiped in private houses. The original Trissels Church (also known as Brush Church) was constructed ca. 1823 two miles north- west of here, adjacent to a cemetery with graves dating from the late 18th century. Trissels is the oldest continuously functioning Mennonite congregation in Virginia. Sermons were delivered in German for several decades. A second sanctuary replaced the first in 1900, and a third opened in 1950. The cemetery later expanded onto the sites of the two earlier churches.

Erected 2019 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number D-61.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1730.

Location. 38° 34.722′ N, 78° 49.233′ W. Marker is near Broadway, Virginia, in Rockingham County. It is at the intersection of Harpine Highway

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(Virginia Route 42) and Trissels Road ( Route 809), on the left when traveling north on Harpine Highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Broadway VA 22815, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lincoln's Virginia Ancestors (approx. 1.6 miles away); Baxter House (approx. 1.8 miles away); First Mennonite Meeting House in Virginia (approx. 2.2 miles away); Mannheim (approx. 2.6 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.6 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.8 miles away); Elder John Kline Monument

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 10, 2021

2. Trissels Mennonite Church Marker

(approx. 2.9 miles away); George Chrisman House (approx. 3.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Broadway.

Regarding Trissels Mennonite Church. Cemetery and present church is located at 11246 Hisers Lane, which is 2.9 road miles from this marker.

Also see . . . Historic Marker Unveiled Sunday In Broadway. 2020 article by Megan Williams in the Daily News-Record.

Speakers during the ceremony include John-Allen Ennis, chair of the Trissels church council, Pastor Harold Miller, Elwood Yoder, a history teacher at Eastern Mennonite High School who is authoring a history of the Trissels congregation, and Randall Jones of the Department of Historic Resources.

Yoder spoke at length about the history of the Mennonite community in this area and the establishing of Trissels Church, using his teaching pointer as a guide.

(Submitted on May 13, 2021, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.)

Trissels Mennonite Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 10, 2021

3. Trissels Mennonite Church

Credits. This page was last revised on September 25, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 13, 2021, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 593 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 13, 2021, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.