{"nrhp_refnum":"00000310","name":"Asbury United Methodist Church and Bethel Chapel and Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"19 Old Post Rd. and Old Post Rd. S","address_restricted":false,"city":"Croton-on-Hudson","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":41.207237334500064,"lon":-73.87982746135118,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-03-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-part religious district in Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York: the c. 1790 Bethel Chapel and its cemetery, and the 1883 brick Gothic Revival Asbury United Methodist Church about 700 feet to the northwest.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the c. 1790 Bethel Chapel is a rare, unusually intact example of simple Methodist religious architecture that reflects the early presence of Methodism in the region. The 1883 church is described as a well-proportioned High Victorian Gothic building with distinctive features among Westchester religious buildings. The cemetery has been the village's only public burying ground for over 200 years.","narrative":"Two linked Methodist sites in Croton-on-Hudson make up this district. Bethel Chapel, built around 1790, is a one-and-a-half-story clapboard meeting house with a simple plan, heavy timber framing and a gallery on tapered wood posts. It sits at the top of a hill surrounded by a cemetery that holds roughly 5,000 graves, including at least two Revolutionary War soldiers and the author Lorraine Hansberry. Land for the chapel and burial ground is traditionally tied to Pierre Van Cortlandt, and Bishop Francis Asbury's 1795 journal mentions the chapel. As the congregation grew, it built Asbury United Methodist Church, dedicated in 1883. This brick High Victorian Gothic building has a slate polychrome roof, an engaged corner tower and a large stained glass window added in 1891. The chapel is considered a rare, well-preserved example of plain Methodist building, and the church is valued for its proportions and detailing. A former bank, a passageway and a former rectory are noncontributing.","period_of_significance":"c. 1790 - 1950","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian: High Victorian Eclectic; Early Republic: Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The chapel is still used by the congregation for weddings, funerals and special events, and the cemetery is still active. The church is in use, and the former rectory is rented to an insurance agency.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.486675-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/00000310.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000310/0493844495-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000310/0493844495-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CrotonNY_BethelCemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CrotonNY_BethelCemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322945","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbury_United_Methodist_Church_and_Bethel_Chapel_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4803759"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/asbury-united-methodist-church-and-bethel-chapel-and-cemetery-00000310/"}