St. Luke's: The Oldest Standing Church of England Building in America

 










During a recent trip to the Virginia penninsula we took advantage of the opportunity to travel back to North Carolina via the historic town of Smithfield, Virginia. We picked up geocaches along the way. As we approached Smithfield we stopped to see St. Luke's Church. This building is the oldest church of England church building in the New World. It is also the oldest example of Gothic architecture in America. It was built in 1632 and was previously called "The Old Brick Church" until taking on its current name in 1820. It served as the meeting location in County Isle of Wight for the General Court of the Colony. Contemporary to the settlements around Smithfield and the Old Brick Church was the historic Jamestown settlement. People like Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, John Rolfe and Powhatan would have been well-known to the settlers who met at the church.

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