When first-time visitors come to Ashe County, they
usually have at least one destination in mind: visiting
the Churches of the Frescoes.

The two churches are part of the Episcopal parish here
in Ashe County (Parish of the Holy Communion) and are
the Church of the Holy Trinity in Glendale Springs and
St. Mary’s in West Jefferson.

Episcopal missionaries from Valle Crucis (in nearby
Watauga County) held services at various locations in
Ashe County as early as 1852, but no continuing presence
of the Episcopal Church existed until 1895 when 19
candidates were presented for confirmation.

Bishop Cheshire (first name unknown) then hired two
schoolteachers and began a school – and in September,
1895, the church of St. Simon the Zealot was organized.
The church’s name was changed to St. Mary’s in 1903.
In 1900 another Bishop visited Glendale Springs and began
building Holy Trinity church.

Miss Jenny Fields, a trained nurse and midwife, moved into
the Holy Trinity Mission House in 1913 and began to tend
the sick and deliver babies in the community. She was
followed by other women and the community of Glendale
Springs began to grow.

The beautiful paintings at the two churches began when
Ben Long, an Italian-trained artist, painted three frescoes
at St. Mary’s: “Mary Great With Child,” in 1974, “John the
Baptist,” in 1975, and the superb “Mystery of Life,” in 1977.
In the summer of 1980, he painted the fresco of “The Last
Supper,” at Holy Trinity as that church building was being
restored.

Since the frescoes were completed, hundreds of thousands
of people have visited the churches. It is estimated that
60,000 pilgrims come to St. Mary’s and Holy Trinity
each year.

Please visit their website for much more information: http://www.churchofthefrescoes.com/index.html