Historic Polegreen Church
In 1748, the meetinghouse here became vital to the colonists' struggle for religious and civil liberty when Samuel Morris and other Hanover Presbyterian dissenters called the Rev. Samuel Davies (1723–1761) to become pastor. Davies, a great orator who inspired Patrick Henry, was Virginia’s first licensed non-Anglican minister. He promoted literacy among enslaved Africans in several colonies with funds he raised in England. In 1759, he became president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University). Polegreen Church burned in June 1864 just before the Battle of Cold Harbor when Confederate artillery fired on it to dislodge Union sharpshooters.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesLibrary of CongressUSGS Historical Topographic Map CollectionDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Example
under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s
what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here
Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.
See your family's markersStart with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.
Report a problem with this page
At the marker right now? You can send us the spot you're standing on.
We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.
Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.