{"nrhp_refnum":"07000227","name":"Slate Mountain Presbyterian Church and Cemetery","other_names":["031-5005"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2121 Lonesome Dove Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Christiansburg","county":"Floyd County","state":"VA","lat":36.77838825050003,"lon":-80.39176992604501,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-03-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion","Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story stone-veneered Presbyterian church with a bell tower and an adjoining cemetery in Rock Castle Gap, Floyd County, Virginia, built in 1932 with a rear addition and tower added in 1951.","why_significant":"It is one of six rock-faced churches built by Presbyterian minister Robert W. Childress in Floyd, Carroll and Patrick counties. It reflects Appalachian Presbyterian worship and social activism in western Virginia and the ministry of Childress. It is significant for Religion and Social History (Criterion A) and for its distinctive architecture (Criterion C).","narrative":"Set on a south-facing hillside among white pines in Rock Castle Gap, this small Presbyterian church and its cemetery sit near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The church is a one-story, gable-fronted building with light wood framing covered in a thick veneer of quartz and quartzite fieldstone, including a few clear quartz crystals. A centered bell tower, the main Gothic-derived feature, has a stained glass window showing the likeness of Jesus and a crenelated parapet of upturned white quartzite. Members built the church in 1932 under minister Robert W. Childress, digging and screening creek sand and hauling fieldstone by truck. A three-room rear addition and the tower followed in 1951. The church began as a mission of Buffalo Mountain Church, organized independently in 1939, and sponsored outpost Sunday schools during World War II. It is one of six Childress rock churches. The cemetery holds fewer than 100 graves marked with granite stones from the 1930s onward.","period_of_significance":"1932-1956","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Current function is still a religious facility with a cemetery; a modern frame addition obscures the rear elevation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.529609-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/6787/41678721/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000227.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000227/629b8d7bd6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000227/629b8d7bd6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slate_Mountain_Presbyterian_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slate_Mountain_Presbyterian_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678721","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_Mountain_Presbyterian_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7538841"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/floyd-county/slate-mountain-presbyterian-church-and-cemetery-07000227/"}