Our Story

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Deeply embedded in the history of the settlement of Augusta County, Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church welcomes you to the heart of the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. The first settlers from the north were john Lewis, who arrived in 1732, and William Beverly who was given a large land grant in 1736. The Scots-Irish Presbyterians who followed lost no time in forming the Triple Forks of the Shenandoah Congregation and in petitioning the Donegal presbytery for the services of a minister. Two centers of worship developed – Tinkling Spring and Augusta Stone Meeting Houses, which were served by the same minister. Tinkling Spring Church was officially founded in 1740. The first meeting house was a log cabin measuring twenty-four by fifty feet.

We invite you to celebrate the differences Christ makes in our lives through ministry in our church, our community, and our world. We would be happy to have you become a part of our church family and invite you to visit our worship services, classes and programs. 

A local artist has generously donated prints of the church that were drawn in 1992.  The prints are available for $15 each. Please call the church office or email office@tinklingspring.com to get yours today.  All proceeds go toward the building fund. 

The same artist has also published two books of historical narratives and pen-and-ink drawings of local historic homes.  “Historic Houses of Augusta County VA” sells for $30, and “Historic Houses of Staunton, VA” sells for $40.  Portions of these proceeds also go toward the building fund. 

For more information about these prints or sketch books, or how to donate to our building fund, please call the church office at 540-885-0746.

In early 2008 we renovated the Tinkling Spring, after which our church was named.  In his book, “Tinkling Spring – Headwater of Freedom,” Howard McKnight Wilson offers this description: “A cool spring of water – issuing from beneath a rock, gathering into a pool from which man lives, overflowing into a stream by which the plains were made alive – is a delightful work of nature. The earliest pioneers in the Valley of Virginia found a bold spring whose emerging waters made a musical sound upon the cavernous rocks, and they called it the tinkling spring.” 

It is believed that two major trails used by both Native Americans and pioneers crossed at this spring, and it became an oasis where weary travelers were able to refresh themselves.  The spring is where the first meeting house of Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church was built, and it remains active.  However, the musical sounds emanating from the spring have somewhat dimmed over the passage of the years. 

A monument outside Fellowship Hall is inscribed, “Sacred to the Memory of the Immigrants to this Valley who turned the wilderness into habitation.”  It lists the names of the original members who were assessed twelve shillings each to build the first meeting house. 

A visit to the Tinkling Spring Church museum will provide a memorable introduction to our rich history. Many of the early settler and founders of Tinkling Spring Church were persecuted Scots-Irish who came to the colonies in the first half of the 1700’s, bringing their Presbyterian faith with them and found their way from Pennsylvania and points north to the Shenandoah Valley. 

The museum exhibits trace this migration and highlight the contributions made by these early settlers, not only to the founding of Tinkling Spring Church, but also to the birth of a free Christian nation. Interesting activities of the Tinkling Spring Church over the past 270 years are also included in the exhibits. Our museum provides an opportunity for us to share with pride our history and heritage from the 1740s to the present. 

The Tinkling Spring: Headwater of Freedom was written by the Rev. Dr. Howard McKnight Wilson in 1954.  The second edition with an update was published in 1974.  The book provides a comprehensive 540-page history of Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church, including appendixes with genealogical information. When the Headwater of Freedom committee published a reproduction of the original 1974 book, it also published a companion volume covering the years 1974-2010. 

Volume I is $40 (+ $5 S&H), and Volume II is $25(+ $5 S&H).  They may be purchased singly or as a set.  For more information, please contact the church office at (540) 885-0746.