{"nrhp_refnum":"08000894","name":"St. John's Episcopal Church","other_names":["Vdhr Id  139-0008"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"275 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wytheville","county":"Wythe County","state":"VA","lat":36.95275355200005,"lon":-81.08151047899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-09-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion","Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. John's Episcopal Church is a brick, Greek and Roman Revival church at 275 East Main Street in Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia, built 1854-1857 to a design by M. Lynch with J.E. and J.G. Pepper as contractors.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is significant under Criterion A for its role in the Virginia Episcopal Church's mission to educate and instruct Black communicants after the Civil War. It ran segregated Sunday School classes for Black students from the 1870s. In August 1881 Rev. J. H. M. Pollard, a Black Episcopal minister, preached to its white congregation, described as the first such sermon in Virginia.","narrative":"Standing at 275 East Main Street in Wytheville, St. John's Episcopal Church was built between 1854 and 1857 and is the oldest church building in the town. Architect M. Lynch combined Greek and Roman classical elements rather than the more common Gothic style. The brick building has a pedimented portico with four Doric columns, a slate roof, an octagonal cupola, and stained-glass windows, some from the Tiffany company. A parish hall was added in 1907 and an office wing in 1954. The church was listed for its place in post-Civil War Episcopal mission work among Black Virginians. From 1874 it held segregated Sunday School classes that offered literacy and religious instruction, and Black attendance at times outnumbered white. In August 1881, Rev. J. H. M. Pollard, a Black Episcopal minister, preached to the white congregation, noted as the first time this happened in Virginia. The period of significance runs from 1857 to 1881.","period_of_significance":"1857-1881","architect_builder":"Lynch, M. (1854 design); Pepper, J.E. and J.G. (1854 construction); Ellwood, A.H. (1907 design); Grigg, Milton (1954 design)","architectural_style":"Greek and Roman Revivals","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Still in use as a religious facility; described as well maintained with no major changes to the original church structure.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.462056-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/6842/41684239/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/08000894.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000894/7ec6c161d5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000894/7ec6c161d5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Skye Marthaler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._John%27s_Episcopal_Church,_Wytheville,_Virginia.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Skye Marthaler</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._John%27s_Episcopal_Church,_Wytheville,_Virginia.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"94001179","name":"Wytheville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/wytheville-historic-district-94001179/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41684239","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Wytheville,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588715"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/wythe-county/st-johns-episcopal-church-08000894/"}