Washington Area Historic Foundation recently announced its 2015 Christmas ornament, a tribute to Zion Episcopal Church.

Each year, the foundation produces an ornament, depicting a historic site in the area, and offers it to the public, according to Dee Congleton, vice president of the WAHF.

Zion Episcopal Church, located on U.S. Highway 264 towards Bath, was established in 1738 by the Robert Cutler Family. The original church was located two miles east of the present site but burned down. It was rebuilt in 1856 and was consecrated on Nov. 14 of 1856. In 2000, the church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The ornaments sell for $25 plus tax, and they come with a stand for decorative purposes,” Congleton said. “Proceeds from ornament sales are used for community projects like the park on Water Street and the Harding Square landscaping.”

Congleton said this year’s ornament and a selection of past ornaments may be purchased at the North Carolina Estuarium, Zion Episcopal Church office and the Coffee Caboose.

The ornament project began in 1996 and featured Singleton Primitive Baptist Church, the old courthouse and old City Hall. Since then, other historical structures have been featured on the ornmanet. Among them are the skipjack Ada Mae Fowle Warehouse and train station, Bank of Washington, the Washington Municipal Building, the former John Small Elementary School, the church towers of First Presbyterian, St. Peter’s and First Methodist churches, Washington High School, former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot (Beaufort County Arts Council building), former Tayloe Hospital, Atlantic Coast Line freight depot, Turnage Theater, old City Hall and the DeMille home, to name a few.

Congleton, who has been apart of the foundation for around 20 years, said the late Hazel Lassiter came up with the idea for the Christmas ornament. Rebecca Clark is chairwoman for the ornament committee. The organization has more than 200 members, according to foundation president Don Stroud.

New members are encouraged to join, Congleton said. The foundation’s board meets once a month and hosts a historic homes tour. The 2014 tour featured 17 homes and raised more than $4,000, which is returned to the community to promote historic sites, interest people in saving old structures and other community projects.