The Story of Loch Willow

 

and the Church That Took its' Name

 

 

About two-hundred yards north of Jennings Branch along Hotchkiss Road in Churchville is a small pond that looks for all the world like a man-made watering hole for cattle. It is not. However, this cowless, algea choked body of water has some important history attached to it. It also has a grandious and exotic name, Loch Willow. More accurately it might be called, What's Left of Loch Willow. Unlike Loch Ness in Scotland, Loch Willow isn't the sort of place to gives rise to stories of monster sightings or the mysterious disappearance of local residents. In fact, it is hardly even noticable. However, there was a time when this oversized puddle was somewhat larger and may well have merited an appellation describing it as a lake. Apparently, it was a large enough local natural feature to eventually give its name to a nearby church, our church, Loch Willow Presbyterian. One suspects it was more the name of the "lake" that inspired its use for the church than its size. After all, Loch is a Scottish word for lake and since the Presbyterian Church had its beginnings in Scotland the name was a natural fit for a new Presbyterian church. In addition, during the post Civil War era the Loch Willow Farm and School was developed by Presbyterian families in the area. Thus, there are many reasons why the church was named Loch Willow. This begs the question of where the name came from in the first place.

 

Actually, Loch Willow was the name given by Addison Cochran, a relatively wealthy town resident, to the mansion and 213 acre farm he owned just west of present day Hotchkiss Road. The mansion is long gone, so is Addison, but Cochran had a mill, the mill had a mill pond (probably fed by nearby Jenning's Branch or an adjacent lake) and that pond is all that remains of Loch Willow. Today the lake is mysteriously absent (or extremely well hidden) and it's possible that it was filled in. What few local histories exist are sketchy on details. It is known that Addison Cochran died shortly before the Civil War ( i. e. The War Between the States ) and his estate was purchased by the Hotchkiss brothers who had just emigrated from Binghampton, New York. Jed Hotchkiss and his brother ran an academy at Loch Willow until 1861 when Jed joined up with Stonewall Jackson and became famous as the Stonewall's mapmaker.

 

As the name Churchville implies, there are a goodly number of churches in this small Virginia town. Loch Willow wasn't the earliest house of worship established in Churchville, but this year it completes its 142nd year of existence. The congregation established itself as a separate entity in 1866 and had completed their church building by 1871. With a few cosmetic alterations and additions this is the very same church that stands at number 37 Buffalo Gap Highway in Churchville today. It is constructed of red brick that was cast and fired on the property during construction. The original 50 foot tall steeple was replaced in the 1890's by a belfry. The steeple that surmounts the church today was added in 1986.

 

 

Loch Willow's founding was the result of distance, the distance it was necessary to travel to attend worship services. At the time people from Churchville and other, more distant towns were attending the Union Church. These were the days before paved roads and the automobile. What may seem to us a trivial distance today could turn a trip to church into an exhausting trek when spring rains turned the local roads into seas of glutinous mud. Thus, a more convenient, local church seemed fitting in 1866. The Lexington Presbytery sent a commission to investigate the feasibility of a new church in Churchville at the behest of petitioners from three different congregations. Most of the petitioners were from Churchville. The Commission gave its approval and Loch Willow was established.

This created some enmity with the folks at Union Church who felt their church would, figuratively speaking, be reclaimed by the howling wilderness if everyone started going to Loch Willow. The pastor of Union Church in particular was upset by the new church and tried to keep the two congregations under his own pastorate to soften the blow. Though appointed by the Presbytery Commission to oversee the new church and determined to keep Loch Willow tied to Union Church Reverend Robert C. Walker was to suffer further disappointment when the new congregation severed relations with Union Church just four months into the arrangement and retained their own pastor.

 

Since its founding in 1866 Loch Willow Presbyterian Church has been an integral part of the Churchville community. The church has grown with the town. The original church building has been added on to, remodeled inside a few times but still stands in its original location. The bell atop Loch Willow has summoned the living and mourned the dead for several generations now. Countless baptisms, weddings and, of course, funerals have taken place inside its doors. It has been a constant and reassuring presence through wars, depressions and booms for the people of Churchville. The church looks to the future with same optimism that has characterized it in the past. As Loch Willow's mission statement says,

 

"We are: a growing community of faith,

proclaiming the gospel by word and action

that all people may know the love of God

through Jesus Christ our Savior."