"Both the church and the hunt club have a long history in Keswick. The congregation dates back to 1745 as one of the first six churches in the Virginia colony back when the Church of England was the official state-sanctioned religion. The original church was replaced with a new building in 1855 but a fire two decades later left only the tower and walls standing. Those were incorporated into the current church when it was rebuilt at the site north of Cismont on Route 231. The church’s 1,575-pound bell was salvaged and is still in use. In fact, it will ring 10 times at 9:45 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day to announce the 10 a.m. prayer service, calling the congregation, hunters, steeds and dogs together."[4]