{"nrhp_refnum":"72000990","name":"Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church","other_names":["Lower Stone Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Rockwell on SR 1221","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rockwell","county":"Rowan County","state":"NC","lat":35.52092188900008,"lon":-80.42127862099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church, also called Lower Stone Church, is a two-story stone church near Rockwell in Litaker Township, Rowan County, North Carolina. Its inscription dates it to 1795, and it was dedicated in 1811.","why_significant":"It is the oldest Reformed church in Rowan County and the parent church of five others in the area. It was built by German settlers who came down from Pennsylvania in the mid-eighteenth century. The nomination notes its plain, practical design, which reflects the pioneer character of its builders.","narrative":"Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church, known locally as Lower Stone, is a plain two-story church of uncoursed stone with a gable roof, set in the countryside near Rockwell in Rowan County. A German rhymed inscription over the south entrance gives the date 1795 and names it Grace Church. Other records suggest the building was complete by 1798 and was not dedicated until 1811. German settlers from Pennsylvania founded the congregation in the mid-eighteenth century. Land was bought in 1774 for the Reformed congregation, and an 1795 deed placed the property in the care of two elders as the stone building went up. It is the oldest Reformed church in the county and the parent of five others nearby. A bell tower added in 1901 changed the main front from south to west, and the interior was rebuilt about 1880. The churchyard holds gravestones with German inscriptions, some from the eighteenth century. The church remains in religious use.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, occupied, in religious use, and altered; the original interiors were removed about 1880 and a bell tower was added in 1901.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.930126-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7221/47722134/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000990.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000990/805169d3c2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000990/805169d3c2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historic_American_Buildings_Survey,_Archie_A._Biggs,_Photographer_June_26,_1937_GENERAL_VIEW_OF_FRONT_AND_SIDE._-_Grace_Lower_Stone_Church,_State_Routes_1221_and_2335,_Rockwell,_HABS_NC,80-FAITH.V,1-1.tif\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historic_American_Buildings_Survey,_Archie_A._Biggs,_Photographer_June_26,_1937_GENERAL_VIEW_OF_FRONT_AND_SIDE._-_Grace_Lower_Stone_Church,_State_Routes_1221_and_2335,_Rockwell,_HABS_NC,80-FAITH.V,1-1.tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722134","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Evangelical_and_Reformed_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5591166"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rowan-county/grace-evangelical-and-reformed-church-72000990/"}