{"nrhp_refnum":"72001383","name":"Old Providence Stone Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of VA 613 and VA 620","address_restricted":false,"city":"Spottswood","county":"Augusta County","state":"VA","lat":37.96123627700007,"lon":-79.22649087737165,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-12-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story rubble limestone Presbyterian meeting house, built in 1793 on the northwest side of the intersection of Routes 613 and 620 near Spottswood, Augusta County, Virginia. A stone-walled cemetery lies to the west.","why_significant":"It is described as the third oldest standing Presbyterian meeting house in the Valley of Virginia. Unlike earlier examples that were much altered and enlarged, it keeps its original proportions and illustrates the simple style of early meeting houses. It is also linked to the McCormick family, including Cyrus Hall McCormick, and to the family of sewing machine inventor J.E.A. Gibbs.","narrative":"Old Providence Stone Church is a one-story, five-bay meeting house of random rubble limestone, measuring 70 by 25 feet, set on a rolling lawn amid Shenandoah Valley farmland near Spottswood. Built in 1793 on land given by Patrick and Susanna Hall, it is the third oldest standing Presbyterian meeting house in the Valley of Virginia. Earlier examples such as Augusta Stone Church and Timber Ridge Church were enlarged and altered, while this building keeps its original proportions and shows the plain character of early meeting houses. Its congregation traces back to a log meeting house in existence by 1743. The McCormick family, including Cyrus Hall McCormick, and the family of sewing machine inventor J.E.A. Gibbs worshipped here, and their parents are buried in the walled cemetery. After the congregation built a new church in 1859, the old building served as a school, residence, store and social hall. A 1959 fire gutted the interior; only the walls are original, and the roof and windows were added afterward.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Interior gutted by fire in 1959; only a shell remains, re-roofed with sash installed afterward. Present use is listed as vacant, and plans to rebuild the interior had not been decided.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.978178-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/6796/41679687/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001383.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001383/e7d749483c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001383/e7d749483c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Philip N. Wheeler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Providence_Church-4x6-300ppi.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Philip N. Wheeler</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:Old_Providence_Church-4x6-300ppi.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679687","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Providence_Stone_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084791"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/augusta-county/old-providence-stone-church-72001383/"}