Who We Are

Scottsville Presbyterian Church shares a faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Our congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA). We serve the Lord in fellowship with other Presbyterian churches forming the Presbytery of the James in central Virginia. We are served by a truly inspirational pastor, Rev. Dr. E. Richard Knox, who brings over 40 years of ministry experience to our congregation.

We are an active congregation involved in many mission and service activities: Meals on Wheels, the James River Boys and Girls Club, the Discovery School and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry, to name a few.  

We also enjoy a relationship with Chestnut Grove Baptist Church, an African American Church in nearby Esmont. We worship and share fellowship with Chestnut Grove several times a year. We believe that, in this small way, we are healing spiritual wounds resulting from slavery. 

Where We’ve Been            

We were founded on October 18, 1827, in the nearby town of Warren, under the care of the West Hanover Presbytery. Our initial membership numbered six. Our first minister was the Rev. Samuel Hurd, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in Richmond. In 1830, through the influence of Peyton Harrison, a lawyer and large landowner in Albemarle County, the church moved from Warren to Scottsville, an important port on the James River. Harrison provided the land for a new church building, which was built in 1832 and has remained in continuous use since then. 

Our two-story, brick building is a notable example of the Federal ‘temple” style of church construction, which was common in Virginia in the early 19th century. It was the first church building within the corporate limits of Scottsville.

Through most of the 19th and 20th centuries, a long succession of ministers served the church, often for periods averaging three to five years. In 1871, the Rev. Thomas D. Bell moved to Scottsville and served as pastor of both the Scottsville and Howardsville churches. Bell remained pastor for 18 years, until his death in 1889. During his pastorate, our church’s membership rose to 100, the highest in its history. The Sunday school numbered 71 pupils and eight teachers. In 1950, Sunday school rooms were added in the balcony, which was formerly a slave gallery.

We updated the exterior of our building in 2018. This was not a simple paint job but a tedious restoration of doors and windows, shutters and railings, and we replaced broken window panes with antique glass. Other recent improvements include exterior lighting, a refurbished bathroom and repainting the interior of the sanctuary.

Where We're Headed

Scottsville Presbyterian withstood the Civil War, two World Wars and numerous floods! In the not-too-distant future, we will be celebrating the church’s 200th anniversary. What will the next 200 years bring? We plan not only to survive, but to thrive, serving this community through worship, fellowship and mission outreach.