Who We Are

There is a deep history in the Churches of Rouzie’s Chapel and Beaverdam UMC.  In the early days of Methodism, churches belonged to “Circuits” and the circuit riding preacher would travel between Churches on a rotation.  Over the years the circuits became what is called “Charges”.  Rouzie’s Chapel and Beaverdam UMC make up the two-point charge of Western Hanover.  This means that they have one pastor that has been appointed to serve both churches.  Each church is individual in nature, like holding separate worship services each week, but still one in sharing its resources and programs in ministry. 

Rouzie’s Chapel UMC

Rouzie’s Chapel, the oldest church in West Hanover charge and it ranks among the oldest churches in Hanover County.  According to local tradition, it was founded about 1791.  It is impossible to verify the date of the deed to the church grounds because during the Civil War the records from Hanover Court House were taken to Richmond for safekeeping and were burned when that city was besieged.  The first minister, who was a Circuit Rider, was Rev. Edward Tomlin Rouzie, hence the name Rouzie’s Chapel.  There was a fire in the original church building sometime after the Civil War. The congregation met at the Depot in Beaverdam during the reconstruction.  Once the new construction was completed, they moved back to the present church building in 1893.  Several additions were made to the structure in the 1950’s, 70’s and early 2000’s resulting in the Church building you see today.

Beaverdam UMC

The story of Beaverdam UMC springs forth from Rouzie’s Chapel story.  It was during the time of the reconstruction of Rouzie’s Chapel that the congregation met at the Beaverdam Depot.  When it came time to go back to the new Rouzie’s Chapel, a few folks decided they didn’t want to go all the way over there for Church any longer. So, they continued to meet at the Depot.  A new faith community was founded in 1893 at the Beaverdam Depot.  The first Beaverdam Church Building was at the northwest corner of Beaver Dam and Tyler Station Road.  The O’Brien family gave the Church a piece of land and a new church was built in 1927 at its current location. The education and fellowship space were added in the 1950’s and the Sanctuary was renovated in 2009.