Members of the Church of the Brethren began to settle in Rockingham County and adjoining counties as early as 1775-1789. The members were widely scattered in those days, and there were no strict congregational lines until many years later. During the 19th century, three church centers were definitely formed — Greenmount, Linville Creek and Flat Rock. Linville Creek had the largest territory extending from the Massanutten Mountain westward to the West Virginia line. There were at least 10 meeting places in Linville Creek Congregation at one time with a total of over 600 members.
When the Brethren first came to the Valley, they worshipped in their houses and barns and out in the open whenever the weather was suitable. Some of their houses were built with partitions on hinges to be raised to accommodate large crowds for worship services. Linville Creek had three such houses — Elder John Kline house, Benjamin Yount house (Tunker House) and the Samuel Kline house.
As the membership of the church increased, the time came to build church houses. Elder John Kline donated land for a meetinghouse in 1825. Three years later the first Linville Creek meeting house was completed. It was a log building and served the congregation until 1868 when a second meeting house was constructed. It could seat about 1,000 people and was a very plain building — walls, ceiling and furniture all unpainted.
Two Annual Meetings (now Annual Conference) have been held at Linville Creek — the first 1837 and again in 1879. Members of the congregation, with help from neighboring congregations, furnished lodging and food for all those who attended. Linville Creek leaders did much mission work in West Virginia. Elder John Kline went into Ohio and Tennessee, traveling as much as 8,000 miles a year on horseback. Kline was moderator of the Annual Meeting four times.
The third church building was built in 1917 to meet the needs of the congregation for a more modern and convenient church house to accommodate a Sunday school, as well as regular preaching services. The 1868 building was torn down and much of its lumber was used in the new building which had a brick exterior and cost $6,000. In 1949, a large addition was constructed to provide more Sunday School rooms and a fellowship hall. This newly remodeled building was completely destroyed by fire on November 6, 1954. Immediately plans were developed for a new church building. The new church was completed in time for dedication almost exactly two years after the fire. In 1962, an educational addition with 11 classrooms was added to the west side of the building.
The large Linville Creek cemetery began in 1830. There are four existing stones marking African Americans’ gravesites in the cemetery, though M. R. Zigler estimated that about forty African Americans are buried in the cemetery.
Linville Creek Church had a free ministry for over 100 years. Early ministers included John Wampler and Peter Nead. In 1935, Samuel Lindsay was installed as the first part-time salaried pastor. In 1947, Robert Hoover was its first full-time minister. Nathan Hollenberg assumed the role of the tenth full-time paid pastor at Linville Creek in 2015. M. R. Zigler, church executive and peace advocate, widely known among Brethren in the twentieth century, was a member at Linville Creek.
Sources
- “About Us,” Linville Creek Church of the Brethren. Accessed July 28, 2026. linvillecreek.com/about-us.
- James Rush, “The Barrenness of a Cemetery: Examining Patterns of a Fragmented Community in Broadway, Va.,” Shenandoah Mennonite Historian 30, no. 2 (2022).
- The Brethren Encyclopedia, vol. 2, K–Z, “Linville Creek Church of the Brethren, VA” (Philadelphia, PA: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1983).