{"nrhp_refnum":"72001399","name":"Slash Church","other_names":["Upper Church","St. Paul's Parish"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"VA 656, N of jct. with VA 657","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ashland","county":"Hanover County","state":"VA","lat":37.71888518050005,"lon":-77.41474297498172,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A white clapboarded frame church near Ashland in Hanover County, Virginia, built in 1729 as the Upper Church of St. Paul's Parish. It sits on a hill above Route 656 at the edge of a wood.","why_significant":"It survives as one of only about half a dozen frame colonial churches in Virginia. Its history is closely tied to the local area, and Patrick Henry, Dolley Madison and Henry Clay are believed to have attended. Patrick Henry's uncle of the same name served as rector for forty years in the eighteenth century.","narrative":"Slash Church is a white clapboarded frame building near Ashland in Hanover County, Virginia. Built in 1729 by Thomas Pinchbeck and Edward Chambers, it served as the Upper Church of St. Paul's Parish, which was formed in 1704. The rectangular structure has a steep gable roof, a modillion cornice and double doors on three sides. Some clapboarding, cornice sections, the west doors and window sills are believed to be colonial, as is much of the original framing, including an unusual roof frame with triangular vertical supports. A 1970 fire damaged the interior, which was rebuilt to match the lost wainscoting and walls. It is one of about six surviving frame colonial churches in Virginia. Patrick Henry, Dolley Madison and Henry Clay are believed to have worshipped here, and Patrick Henry's uncle was rector for forty years. After the Disestablishment the church was shared by Methodists and Disciples of Christ, and since 1842 it has belonged to the latter. The name comes from nearby swampy land called the slashes.","period_of_significance":"18th Century (specific date 1729)","architect_builder":"Thomas Pinchbeck and Edward Chambers","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"In good condition and occupied, in religious use. The interior was damaged by fire and water in 1970 and rebuilt to resemble the original; a modern addition is connected by a passageway.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.254561-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/6811/41681189/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001399.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001399/ce881974cf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001399/ce881974cf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Michael Kotrady","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slash_Church,_Hanover_County,_Virginia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Kotrady</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:Slash_Church,_Hanover_County,_Virginia.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100008295","name":"Brown Grove Rural Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/brown-grove-rural-historic-district-100008295/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681189","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713211"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/hanover-county/slash-church-72001399/"}