Kingston Parish

Kingston Parish was established about 1652. During colonial times, the Anglican parish administered the ecclesiastical and some civil affairs for the inhabitants of the area that later became Mathews County. The principal parish church is believed to have been located on this site since the early 18th century. In ruins by 1841, it was restored as Christ Church largely through the efforts of Elizabeth Tompkins, sister of Confederate Capt. Sally Tompkins. Both are buried here. After a fire in 1904, the church was rebuilt. Rev. Giles Buckner Cooke, former member of Gen. Robert E. Lee's staff during the Civil War, served as rector here from 1904 to 1915.