The next Open House at the Elk Run Church Museum will be held on Saturday, October 18 from 11 am to 2 pm. 

 Near the crossroads of Elk Run Road and Midland Road, the Elk Run Church Museum sits atop the foundation of Elk Run Church, the first Anglican Church built in what is now Fauquier County.  The first minister of Elk Run Church, Rev. James Keith, was the grandfather of future Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall.  In the 1750s a brick cruciform church replaced an earlier chapel which was noted on the 1751 Fry and Jefferson map of Virginia.  After 1786, due to the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Virginia, the building was neglected and fell into disrepair and eventually disappeared.

In the 1990s an all-volunteer archaeological effort was conducted from 1999 to 2006, uncovering the heretofore unknown 1750’s stone foundation.  Over 54 units were excavated by the volunteers, revealing the entirety of the remaining foundation.  In 2010 the museum was opened in order to show a section of the foundation and interpret the history of the site and the area.  Displays inside the museum include special artifacts from the Manahoac tribe, which occupied the area before European settlers, panels showing the relationship of the nearby Germantown settlement with the church, highlights of the Anglican Church in colonial Virginia, information about Chief Justice John Marshall, and artifacts recovered from the seven-year archaeological dig at the site.  Fauquier County Parks and Recreation was given oversite of the museum and property in 2019 and in April, 2025 the property was purchased by Fauquier County to preserve the site for the future.

Elk Run Church Museum is located on Elk Run Road just southwest of the intersection with Midland Road.  Tours can be arranged by calling Monroe Park at (540) 422-8170.  For more information about the history of the church, please go to https://elkrunchurchhistoricsite.org/ or watch our video https://youtu.be/elrUDuA954s

Elk Run Church Museum aerial view-Google Maps
Aerial view of Elk Run Church Museum from Google Maps.