{"nrhp_refnum":"09000633","name":"Pine Grove Community Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Austin Rd. & Pine Grove Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pine Grove","county":"Lewis County","state":"NY","lat":43.75383691500008,"lon":-75.37634971099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-08-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame chapel at the crossroads of Austin and Pine Grove roads in the hamlet of Pine Grove, town of Watson, Lewis County, New York, built in 1895 by local carpenter Lucian Rumble.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is locally significant as an intact, representative example of eclectic late Victorian Gothic architecture, mixing Gothic and Queen Anne elements in a builder's informal interpretation. It has been non-denominational since its start and has served as a public gathering space. It keeps its original chairs, benches, and an unusual ramped theater-style floor.","narrative":"Pine Grove Community Church is a small wooden chapel at the crossroads hamlet of Pine Grove in the town of Watson, Lewis County, New York. Local carpenter Lucian Rumble designed and built it in 1895 after Methodist minister Elder Fiske began holding Sunday school and religious meetings at the nearby schoolhouse and the congregation raised money for a lot. Builders reused lumber from an abandoned building on the site. The two-story clapboard building has a steep gable roof, a central bell tower, pointed-arch window hoods, and cut scrollwork brackets that blend Gothic and Queen Anne details. Inside, the nave has a ramped, theater-style floor that Rumble reportedly copied from a theater he had seen, with chairs pegged into the floor. The church has been non-denominational since its founding and has hosted gatherings from suffrage meetings to potluck dinners. Its original chairs, benches, and rural, forested setting remain largely intact, which supports its local significance for architecture.","period_of_significance":"1895","architect_builder":"Lucian Rumble","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Stick","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a church; the form lists current function as religion/church and notes a preservation society owns it.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.454798-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/09000633.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000633/55fa1c50cb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000633/55fa1c50cb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Allan Green","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pine_Grove_Community_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Allan Green</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:Pine_Grove_Community_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318598","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Grove_Community_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7195168"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/lewis-county/pine-grove-community-church-09000633/"}