Totuskey Baptist Church

Soon after the Civil War residents living between the big and little branches of Totuskey Creek began planning a church. Land was donated by Robert Sydnor, Sr. and weather board siding given from Benjamin Tucker's nearby saw mill. As the construction was underway a brush arbor was built to temporarily hold sermons. The first sermons were given by Rev. Albert Smith but he died suddenly before the proper church was finished. When the building was completed it was first known as Chinquapin Chapel and it served as a school house on week days and a church on Sundays. After Smith's death in 1867 it took four years to find a regular preacher to accept the call of the new church. On October 12th, 1871 the church was officially organized as Totuskey Baptist Church and admitted in the Rappahannock Association. Hempsel Clarke, Anna Elizabeth Clark and John Taliaferro Sisson were three of the 16 original members. The first pastor was G.H. Northam.

By 1873 church membership was given as 80. Early church records show that Totuskey was very strict on the conduct of its members. Gambling, dancing, drinking and swearing were forbidden. Any member who violated those rules was excluded from the church until they made a public confession. Church members were expected to make regular attendance and when absent were visited by other members to find out why. Members who did not tithe to the church were dropped from the membership rolls after six months.

According to Richmond County Virginia, A Review Commemorating the Bicentennial, "The church almost collapsed during a dispute in the years 1883 to 1887 over locating a new school. Their pastor being Superintendent of Schools in the county at the time, was forced to resign."

Early preachers at Totuskey have been; G.H. Northam 1871-1884, C.N. Betts 1888-1889, J.M. Dunaway 1890-1892, A.D. Reynolds 1892-1896, W.E. Wright 1897-1901, L.A. Brown 1902-1905, J.M. Street 1906-1908, E.L. Hardcastle 1908-1912, A.H. Jones 1912-1917, S.S. Robinson 1918-1926, G.R. Tureman 1927-1933, L.W. Fallin 1933-1936, E.B. Cahoon 1936-1947, T.R. Sanford 1947-1950, Jesse Clay 1951-1957, R.J. Bennett 1957-1961, H.N. Riner 1962-1964 and F.F. Bush 1965-1969.

In 1897 Totuskey united with Gibeon and Bethany Churches to form The Village Field and share preachers. After World War One the church purchased a piano and acetylene lights were installed to replace the kerosene lanterns. In 1951 construction began on a new brick church building. That building was dedicated in 1953. In October of 1971 a marker was placed to commemorate the site of the first church building, on the opposite side of the road in the middle of the cemetery.