A colonial church visit

Located a few miles north of Government Island off of Route 1 is the historic Aquia Episcopal Church, which was constructed of brick and Aquia sandstone in the mid-eighteenth century.  I've always wanted to visit the site, having read about it in my years of working as a researcher at the antiques gallery in Alexandria.  It's possible to make arrangements to tour the interior of the church, which remains much as how it originally appeared after it was first constructed, including a highly unusual three-tiered pulpit, but since this was a visit on a whim, Sammy and I had to make do with stroll around the grounds.

Inscribed on the Aquia sandstone pediment surmounting the side entrance is a brief history of the building: "Built/AD 1751 Destroyed/By Fire 1754 & Rebuilt AD 1757/By Mourning Richards, Undertaker/William Copein, Mason."

The cemetery was filled with tombstones dating back to the seventeenth century; sadly many of the older examples had been made with the eponymous Aquia sandstone, which does not hold up well to the elements (which is why the quarry eventually went into decline) and had all but deteriorated to the point of complete illegibility.

While the text may have vanished, the carved decorative elements were still strong on some of them; this worn and weathered angel can be found on the grave of Reverend Alexander Scott, who died in 1738.