Margaret Mercer

The Episcopal Church on our campus dates back to 1836. Margaret Mercer purchased Belmont plantation to establish a progressive Christian school for young ladies. With a desire to provide access to education for all children, her students included both non-paying children and those from wealthier families.

As her school grew, so did her commitment to the community. She initiated a number of public works projects to improve the local environs. She urged all local children to attend Sunday school so that all could experience the power of faith as well as the basics of reading and writing.

Mercer campaigned for a new parish church in Ashburn. The closest church was in Leesburg, too far for most residents. Her petitions to the bishop of Virginia resulted in little enthusiasm for the project. Unwavering in her commitment, Mercer used her own resources to build Belmont chapel in 1840.

She persuaded the rector of St. James Parish in Leesburg to visit the chapel monthly to preach and administer the sacraments. The chapel grew into a community center of worship, Sunday school, communion services, funerals, baptisms and weddings. Following her death in 1846, Belmont Chapel remained the center of community religious and social activity for the area well into the 20th century. The Sunday school founded by Mercer continued uninterrupted until World War II. Never having a priest of its own, it was regularly served by clergy from nearby churches. The last known religious event held in the chapel was a wedding in 1951.

After that time, the property fell into disrepair, culminating in a fire set by vandals in 1963 that destroyed all but the foundation and a portion of the grand stone façade of the chapel. The property was almost forgotten until Victoria Heard, curate of St. James in Leesburg, discovered a land deed that, as part of an effort to reach out to the growing population of Loudoun County,  restored the Belmont property to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in 1987.