{"nrhp_refnum":"09000264","name":"Asbury Methodist Church","other_names":["Asbury Memorial Church","Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church South"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE. side US Hwy. 301 N., .10 mi. SW. of NC 1154","address_restricted":false,"city":"Raynham","county":"Robeson County","state":"NC","lat":34.57514883500005,"lon":-79.19247051099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small rural Methodist church in Raynham, Robeson County, North Carolina, built in 1861 as a timber-frame, gable-front building with a prostyle portico, now known as Asbury Memorial Church. It sits on a lot of about 1.5 acres with a cemetery across U.S. Highway 301.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is an intact example of a mid-nineteenth-century rural Protestant church with Greek Revival elements, and that its interior retains original woodwork and furnishings. It also describes the church as the mother Methodist church of Robeson County and ties the cemetery, dating to 1848, to the congregation.","narrative":"Built in 1861 in Raynham, Robeson County, Asbury Methodist Church is a timber-frame, gable-front building with a prostyle portico and six-over-six windows, set in the modest Greek Revival manner of rural North Carolina churches. David Townsend served as master builder, with his brothers Jackson and Robert helping to build and finance it on land Jackson Townsend deeded in 1861. The congregation grew out of Providence Methodist Church, organized around 1811 by Bishop Francis Asbury, and Asbury became the mother Methodist church of Robeson County. The interior keeps its oak pews, communion rail, wainscoting, plaster walls and tongue-and-groove ceiling largely intact. The adjoining cemetery, dating to 1848, holds many early parishioners. The church was listed for its architecture as a well-preserved example of a plain rural church of its period, with its interior furnishings and original woodwork still in place.","period_of_significance":"1861","architect_builder":"Townsend, David, builder","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Church remains in use for an annual homecoming, occasional weddings, baptisms and funerals; trustees keep the church and grounds in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:41.820036-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/42/7219/47721942/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/09000264.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000264/bbe532970a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000264/bbe532970a-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Ammodramus","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asbury_Methodist_Church_(Raynham_NC)_from_N_2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ammodramus</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asbury_Methodist_Church_(Raynham_NC)_from_N_2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721942","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbury_Methodist_Church_(Raynham,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19864788"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/robeson-county/asbury-methodist-church-09000264/"}