{"nrhp_refnum":"07000228","name":"Dinwiddie Presbyterian Church and Cemetery","other_names":["017-5015"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2698 Homestead Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsville","county":"Carroll County","state":"VA","lat":36.86288467800006,"lon":-80.71684355470657,"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 fieldstone Gothic Revival church and its adjoining cemetery on about 1.2 acres along Homestead Road near Mitchell Crossroads, Hillsville, Carroll County, Virginia. The church was built in 1948 under Presbyterian minister Robert Childress.","why_significant":"It is one of six Childress rock-faced churches built in Floyd, Carroll and Patrick counties between 1919 and the early 1950s. It reflects Appalachian Presbyterian worship and social activism in western Virginia and the ministry of Robert W. Childress. It is significant for religion and social history, and for its distinctive architecture.","narrative":"Dinwiddie Presbyterian Church, completed in 1948 in Carroll County, Virginia, is a fieldstone building with a front entry bell tower, crenellated parapets, triangular-headed windows and thick stone buttresses. Inside, exposed pine trusses, knotty-pine paneling and a natural stone altar and pulpit define the sanctuary. A large cemetery with fieldstone pillars and chain fencing occupies the high ground beside it. The church was built after James Arthur Mitchell, returning from World War II, sought to revive a congregation that had languished for decades. Minister Robert Childress agreed to lead the effort, and he and Richard Slate laid out the foundation without architects or plans in 1946. Stone was hauled from Buffalo Mountain, and the first service took place in September 1948. It is one of six Childress rock churches in southwestern Virginia, recognized for religion, social history and architecture from 1948 to 1956, the year Childress died.","period_of_significance":"1948-1956","architect_builder":"Childress, Rev. Robert; Slate, Richard","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious facility and cemetery; the fieldstone altar and pulpit remain unchanged, and a modern brick addition has been added at the rear.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.450744-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/7/6786/41678607/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000228.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000228/d867db5fe8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000228/d867db5fe8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"IxieVerns","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dinwiddie_Presbyterian_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">IxieVerns</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:Dinwiddie_Presbyterian_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678607","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinwiddie_Presbyterian_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5278765"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/carroll-county/dinwiddie-presbyterian-church-and-cemetery-07000228/"}