{"nrhp_refnum":"04001482","name":"Chestnut Ridge and Schellsburg Union Church and Cemetery","other_names":["Old Log Church and Cemetery"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"US 30","address_restricted":false,"city":"Napier Township","county":"Bedford County","state":"PA","lat":40.04762620900004,"lon":-78.65603306446056,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-01-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A hewn-log union church built in 1806 on Chestnut Ridge, with an adjoining burial ground, in Napier Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, immediately west of the village of Schellsburg. The complex also includes an 1860 sexton's house and a dependency.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a well-preserved and distinctive example of early nineteenth-century log architecture, retaining its original site and largely unaltered interior. It also cites the church's role in the early settlement of south-central Pennsylvania and the age of the cemetery, where pioneers including John Schell are buried.","narrative":"Built in 1806 of hewn oak logs on Chestnut Ridge west of Schellsburg, the Union Church was erected by subscription for use by both Reformed and Lutheran congregations, and its pulpit, raised on a single octagonal post, and balcony survive from the early years. Its walls were clad in weatherboard in 1881 and the cladding was removed in 1936, restoring the exposed logs. The church stopped regular services around 1852, and in 1860 the Chestnut Ridge and Schellsburg Union Cemetery Association was incorporated to manage the church and graveyard. The adjoining cemetery holds the graves of hundreds of area residents, including veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War, and its tombstones show traditional carving in German and English. The nomination regards the building as one of few intact log churches in the county and as a link to early settlement of the region.","period_of_significance":"1806-1860","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"The church is no longer in regular use and the burial ground remains in use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.076791-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/04001482.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001482/7f0577d40c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001482/7f0577d40c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CHESTNUT_RIDGE_AND_SCHELLSBURG_UNION_CHURCH_AND_CEMETERY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ MD</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:CHESTNUT_RIDGE_AND_SCHELLSBURG_UNION_CHURCH_AND_CEMETERY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998061","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_Ridge_and_Schellsburg_Union_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5093986"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/bedford-county/chestnut-ridge-and-schellsburg-union-church-and-cemetery-04001482/"}