By Ed Simmons, Jr.
cpreporter@lcs.net
The sun was blazing hot Sunday afternoon but inside the thick brick walls of Enon Baptist Church it was cool and peaceful for the summer meeting of the Caroline Historical Society. Ten members braved the heat to travel just over the Caroline line at Portobago Bay to the Essex County church first established in 1820, its present-day brick structure dating to 1852.
Katherine Parker Chinault, who's attended Enon all her life, gave the tour, with Dorothy B. Wright as her fellow hostess. The sanctuary is a beautiful one, even awe-inspiring with slender rose-colored columns tapering upwards to support a large white gallery while overhead hangs a vaulted, finely-crafted ceiling. Central to the history of Enon is its 19th century pastor Dr. William Baynham, a medical doctor serving both the spiritual and medical needs of the Caroline and Essex community in the vicinity of Supply. County historian Herbert Collins said many families gave the name Baynham as a middle name to children he had delivered. When 74 years old, the pastor died in his buggy on the way to visit a friend. His horse just stopped as well. As was his request he was buried under the pulpit, which gives a mysterious allure to the sanctuary.
Giving the tour, Katherine Chinault told how as a little girl in the early 1930s the pulpit was moved for a Christmas play practice, and when she stepped on one of the floorboards over Dr. Baynham's grave, it creaked loudly. "Lord, I'm going down with Dr. Baynham!" she remembers crying out. There are other interesting graves too. When Fort A.P. Hill took over the Garrett farm "Locust Hill" where John Wilkes Boothe was killed in 1865, the Garrett Family graves were moved to Enon's cemetery
Of interesting note also, black members of the congregation, who were more numerous than whites, left after the Civil War to establish Ebenezer Baptist Church, just a short ways down Supply Road. Another large portion of the congregation was lost in 1942 when the Army displaced residents to make way for Fort A.P. Hill. To add to the church's woes, last year in February the concussion from a blast at the fort blew out the front left window and cracked the wall in two places.
All that is now repaired. The interior of this ancient church is particularly pretty because no shades or venetian blinds cover the tall windows. The old wooden shutters are used instead to shield against the sun, which gives the sanctuary a charming appeal. Interesting too are the pew dividers which separated men from women. Of note also as you leave the sanctuary, the intriguing and kindly Dr. Baynham seems to gaze serenely at you as he looks out from his portrait on the rear wall.