{"nrhp_refnum":"71000614","name":"St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"St. Mary's Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsborough","county":"Orange County","state":"NC","lat":36.07644209600005,"lon":-79.09497266999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-06-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and its churchyard on St. Mary's Road in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina. The present Gothic Revival brick church was built in 1825-1826 on a high knoll, with later additions.","why_significant":"The church is cited as the first appearance of Gothic influence in North Carolina church architecture. It is also a landmark overlooking Hillsborough and is associated with many prominent North Carolinians, several of whom are buried in its churchyard.","narrative":"St. Matthew's Episcopal Church sits on a high knoll in Hillsborough, surrounded by a churchyard of about 520 by 370 feet shaded by oaks, hollies and magnolias. The brick church, built in Flemish bond with a steep gable roof, was consecrated in 1826 after an earlier church of 1766 burned around 1793. It is an early example of Gothic Revival design, with narrow pointed arches, lancet windows filled with stained glass, and a square west tower topped by a pyramidal spire. The building took its present form over about forty-five years: the tower was added in 1830 and rebuilt in 1850, a gallery came in 1835, and the east bay, chancel and exposed-beam ceiling followed in 1868, with the spire in 1875. The churchyard holds Chief Justice Thomas Ruffin, botanist and musician Moses Ashley Curtis, and members of other prominent families, along with early nineteenth century gravestones of striking design.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Architect possibly Francis Lister Hawks (suggested, not confirmed)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, altered, on its original site, occupied and in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.348573-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/7216/47721646/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/71000614.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000614/99ad3e9709-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000614/99ad3e9709-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Matthew%27s_Episcopal_Church,_St._Mary%27s_Road,_Hillsborough_(Orange_County,_North_Carolina).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Matthew%27s_Episcopal_Church,_St._Mary%27s_Road,_Hillsborough_(Orange_County,_North_Carolina).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"73001363","name":"Hillsborough Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/hillsborough-historic-district-73001363/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721646","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Matthew%27s_Episcopal_Church_and_Churchyard","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7590605"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/orange-county/st-matthews-episcopal-church-and-churchyard-71000614/"}