Shiloh Baptist Church was organized in 1855, and construction began on the original church (see photo) the following year. Rev. Howard W. Montague of Essex County was the first pastor of Shiloh. He was very evangelistic and would go to the fishing shore or any gathering and hold a prayer meeting. He came from his home in Essex county on horseback and met his appointments regularly to earn his $85 annual salary. Under his leadership, the church started missions stations and helped form additional churches nearby. In 1902, the Rappahannock Association met at Shiloh for a period of three days. The crowd was so large that a brush arbor was built in one corner of the church yard where preaching services were held for the overflow. In 1948, the original church building was destroyed by a tornado and a new building was dedicated on October 22, 1950. In 1982, the present education building and fellowship hall were constructed. In September 1988, Shiloh Baptist Church became part of the Fredericksburg Area Baptist Association (see Affiliations). Our current pastor, Richard Headley, returned to lead his boyhood church in June, 2004.
The First 150 Years 
We reached our 150-year milestone in 2006 and celebrated during church services in October, beginning with Pastor Richard Headley, and his wife, Suzanne, being chauffeured to the church by Ed Hopkins of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, with his horse and buggy. Our congregation dressed in their best 19th Century clothing to help commemorate the occasion. [View the photo album] They turned back to a time when God and the church were the center of every activity of their lives. Shiloh broke away from Hanover Baptist Church in 1856 after a lengthy debate on temperance. There's a lot more to the story, and we are working hard to publish Shiloh's history. We are researching the old church minutes, interviewing people, collecting old photos, and writing the history as we go along. We have contracted the printing of the book and hope to be ready for production before the year is over. For a sampling, read the bulletin insert that was published for Shiloh's 150th anniversary celebration.
New! View the video from our History Sunday Service (September 7, 2008).
