A group of neighbors meeting in a cooper shop near the present site organized a church in 1852. With five dollars, they purchased one acre of land from the estate of Thomas Maxwell and erected the first building in 1855. It was used as a school during the 1880s. The present sanctuary dates from 1900 and now has several additions. The church grounds have increased to more than five acres through gifts and purchases. Until 1954, when it became a separate station, Shady Grove was one of four churches on the Goochland Charge.