{"nrhp_refnum":"04000844","name":"Thomas Methodist Episcopal Chapel","other_names":["Thomas Chapel,Thomas Chapel United Methodist Church","009-0178"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"VA 684, Penicks Mill Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Thaxton","county":"Bedford (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.380586135000044,"lon":-79.62690276499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small one-story, one-room brick chapel in vernacular Greek Revival style, built in 1844 by local craftsmen on a hilltop beside Route 684 in the Penicks Mill area near Thaxton, Bedford County, Virginia.","why_significant":"The chapel is described as a rare, essentially unaltered example of a small Greek-temple-form church, with no additions of any kind. It is also tied to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, formed in 1844 after a split over slavery, and to the Virginia Conference of that church.","narrative":"Thomas Methodist Episcopal Chapel is a small brick church on a rounded hilltop in the Penicks Mill area near Thaxton, in rural Bedford County, Virginia. Local craftsmen built it in 1844 in a vernacular Greek Revival style, measuring 30 by 40 feet, with a pedimented front gable, three-bay facade, and a single room inside. Its walls are handmade brick laid in Flemish bond at the front and common bond elsewhere, and the interior still holds its pews, stove, piano and pulpit. Local Methodists of the Virginia Conference began planning the chapel soon after the 1844 General Conference, when a dispute over slavery led to the creation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Land was deeded to eight trustees that July. The chapel is valued for its religious associations and for its design and workmanship. No addition has ever been made to it, not even a shed. It closed in 1972 and has since been looked after by the Bedford Historical Society.","period_of_significance":"1844-1954","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant and not in use; last occupied in 1972. The Bedford Historical Society has maintained it since then, including termite treatment and roof repairs.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.935787-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/6797/41679772/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/04000844.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000844/7900c8dda6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000844/7900c8dda6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Methodist_Episcopal_Chapel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Methodist_Episcopal_Chapel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679772","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Methodist_Episcopal_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7792416"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/bedford/thomas-methodist-episcopal-chapel-04000844/"}