At the June 9, 2025 Town Council meeting, Kevin Ratliff, the former Minister at the Grottoes Chapel presented the Town with a plaque made from the American Chestnut threshold of the church. With him was Gary Lam, a board member of the church, and Stanley Morris, the carpenter who helped lead the restoration of the 1892 building at the corner of 9th & Elm Streets.
The inscription reads:
“In the early 1890’s, Rev. A.F. Laird, a Presbyterian minister from Mt Horeb Presbyterian Church, located just four miles away, began a mission outreach that led to the establishment of a church outpost in what was then known as the town of Shendun, Virginia. In 1892, a new church building was erected and named Shendun Chapel. After the turn of the century in 1912, the town of Shendun was renamed Grottoes, and accordingly, the church adopted the name Grottoes Chapel. The outpost became a Presbyterian church in its own right in 1924. Prominent elders were W.E. Harnsberger and Geo. Root.
Despite dedicated efforts, the church struggled during the wartime era of the early 1940s. The last Presbyterian pastor, C.H. Phipps, served rom 1934 to 1944 and the church was closed as a Presbyterian congregation on April 23, 1946. Rev. Phipps is buried in Waynesboro, Virginia.
The building was then rented out to other denominations. In 1955, the church was purchased by the Four-Square Pentecostal denomination and the pastor, Rev. Taylor, guided a new congregation. Later, in 1962, Walter Comer and his wife Fannie served the church faithfully into the early 1980s through the International Pentecostal Church of Christ denomination.
Rev. Margaret Edwards pastored into the early 2000s and after her passing, the church was closed and sat vacant from 2007 until 2017 when Rev. Kevin and Josie Ratliff purchased the building alongside a small group of about 15 congregants. The building and detached pavilion, both in need of sore repairs, was then remodeled at the guidance of church members, Frank Coffman, project lead, and Gary Lam, assistant. Master carpenter Stanley Morris held a significant role in helping breathe new life back into the building and re-establish an old outpost for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This plaque is mounted on a piece of American Chestnut wood, salvaged from the original threshold of the church’s front door. Over the years, countless souls have cross this threshold to worship in the sanctuary of God, now departed to their heavenly reward.”
Afterward, Council members present stood together to get a photograph with the guests and the plaque being presented.
A display spot has not yet been determined for the plaque. It is currently in the administrative offices at Town Hall.