In 1897, a group of largely Midwestern Amish and Mennonite families, attracted by inexpensive farmland and rich timberland located near the growing urban center of Newport News, moved here to found the Mennonite Colony, an agrarian religious community. In 1900, David Z. Yoder, a minister and a founder of the colony, assisted several Amish families in establishing the Providence Amish Mennonite denomination here at Oyster Point. Christian K. Miller was the chief carpenter for the simple wood-frame church, which was built of locally harvested pine on land acquired from the Jones family. The church was moved and renovated in 1975 when Warwick Boulevard was widened.
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