Saving what little remains of old town Sterling

A group of Sterling citizens and business people calling themselves “SOS,” or “Save Old Sterling” have been working for much of the past year to preserve what little remains of the old town of Sterling, once known as Guilford. For months, they worked with the developer and District Supervisor to have the old Methodist Church at the corner of Davis Drive and West Church Road either moved or disassembled and stored (with the hope of a future re-assembly on a nearby property). These efforts were not successful.

So when the demolition of the church appeared imminent, SOS focused on salvaging valuable and architecturally significant elements of the church as the only way to preserve any remnant of it. The goal is to incorporate these elements in new building construction in the Old Sterling neighborhood, possibly as pieces of art, in an attempt to memorialize the heritage that is now being lost forever.

The Sterling United Methodist Church was established in 1875 as the Methodist Church in Guilford. The church occupied a one-room building that also served as a public school located at 1101 West Church Road. In 1879, the Methodist Church bought the building and one acre of land for $200. The first church structure was built in the 1880’s. In 1890, the name of the community was changed from Guilford to Sterling and the congregation changed to Sterling Methodist Church. In March 1897, the church burned to the ground and a new building was soon erected on the same site. This church served as the sanctuary for the congregation until 1983 when Sterling Methodist moved into a modern building on East Church Road.

The fate of the church is expected to take another step forward in history when it is replaced by a five story, 89,000 square-foot “mini storage” facility which was approved earlier this year by the Loudoun Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.

On Monday October 31 and Tuesday November 1, Craig Jacobs of Salvagewrights Ltd., headquartered out of Orange, Virginia, expertly carried out the salvage work. Jacobs and his crew are well known for dismantling, moving, and performing reconstruction on many famous historic sites in Virginia.

Although the entire structure could not be saved, the SOS group is confident that the work is being done in the best possible way. The materials will be stored in a well-protected container in Sterling until a reuse can be found that is worthy of the integrity that the items represent. The organization is actively working to achieve that goal. Please see the following link to Salvaging the Old Sterling Church youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lifEJCLPJI8

If you’d like to know more about the SOS group and its mission to save “Old Sterling” and to help find ways to encourage new developers to incorporate the few remaining buildings into a revenue-producing “Grandfather” village, please contact Bill or Jackie at bewing2@gmail.com or (703) 992-3508. Please consider providing any ideas or donations that you feel would help the cause. The historic village is quickly becoming a relic of the past. SOS is always willing to accept new members as well.

Update! November 1, 2016

A significant milestone: the church materials are now safely in storage, waiting for their next assignment. All were astonished that Craig Jacobs and company were able to retrieve both the rose window from the front of the church and the two charming diminutive windows from the altar area. The rose window was entirely hidden behind aluminum siding and its existence discovered only after a tour of the inside of the church; the edge of the framing was noticed in a photograph taken over top of the ceiling!

In light of losing the church to the wrecking ball, it is considered a victory of sorts to have obtained permission and access and a more than competent crew able to carry out the job safely and effectively. Efforts now turn to finding a future for these amazing relics of the Old Methodist Church in Guilford.

Craig Jacobs recently informed SOS that the demolition of the old church structure might begin sometime in November. SOS strongly urges anyone who is interested in Old Sterling’s fading past to take a drive down West Church Road, either from Route 28 or Sterling Boulevard, to Ruritan Circle.

There you can visit the old Guilford Baptist Church (now the Ethiopian Orthodox Church), see the old Methodist Church, the timeworn homes and other remaining historic buildings that reside near the bike path that once was the railway that first brought prosperity to this Eastern Loudoun town.