The church, both black and white, has played a critical role in Quince Orchard’s history. So much so that in a 1908 Washington Post article informing Washingtonians of places worth visiting, Quince Orchard is mentioned as renown for its churches. Three churches served the Quince Orchard community – Pleasant View Methodist Episcopal Church, Hunting Hill Methodist Episcopal Church and McDonald Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. These churches served as houses of worship, a place for social gathering, a fellowship hall and as a sanctuary from the tribulations of rural life. As three churches merged into one congregation – Fairhaven United Methodist Church, the ground was seeded for the diverse community that exists today.

In 1868, just three years after the Civil War ended, the doers in our community recognized that the black children of Quince Orchard deserved to be educated. At a time of significant racial strife, the community banded together to acquire the land, build a school, hire the teachers, and enroll the students all while petitioning the county. Because of their perseverance and belief that our community would be better for all of us – black and white – if all children were educated, Quince Orchard was put on the map. And continues to unite the community beyond racial barriers.