Augusta County, Va., Churches and Voting Precincts

Church denominations in Augusta were primarily Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian. The Hotchkiss map included African churches in Staunton formed after the Civil War. Nearly all other churches on the map were formed before the war. The diversity and locations of denominations in Augusta were also present at the precinct level. New Hope Precinct, for example, one of the largest and most wealthy and important precincts, included churches from all of the major denominations.

The map is derived from a Jedediah Hotchkiss map of Augusta County, published in 1870, and based on surveys completed "during the war." The Hotchkiss map has been georeferenced at the Virginia Center for Digital History, using ESRI Arc Info to produce a Geographic Information Systems map and database of households.

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Edward L. Ayers and William G. Thomas, III,
Augusta County, Va., Churches and Voting Precincts
2001

"Franklin was slightly more churched than Augusta. Its denominations were more concentrated in the German traditions, but Augusta's churches were larger and more expensive."

"The white literacy rates and educational opportunities in both places were relatively high, but substantially better in Franklin."