{"nrhp_refnum":"73002149","name":"St. John's Church","other_names":["Chuckatuck Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Chuckatuck on VA 125","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chuckatuck (Independent City)","county":"Suffolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85720351050006,"lon":-76.56095993656396,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. John's Church (also called Chuckatuck Church) is a brick colonial parish church on the north side of Route 125, east of the village of Chuckatuck, Virginia. The present building was completed in 1755 and is the third church on the site.","why_significant":"The church is presented as an important example of the rectilinear form of Virginia's colonial ecclesiastical architecture, with fine glazed-header Flemish bond brickwork. It is unusual in that its chancel faces northeast rather than the usual east-west orientation. It is also remembered for its vestry's challenge to Governor Francis Nicholson over the induction of ministers.","narrative":"St. John's Church, also known as Chuckatuck Church, is a brick parish church set in a churchyard of old cedars, sycamores and boxwood above a pond formed by Cedar Creek, east of Chuckatuck, Virginia. It is the third church on the site; the first was built around 1643 and the second was replaced by the present building, completed in 1755. The walls are laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers, and some bricks bear initials linked to Anthony and Esther Holladay, who gave the land. Unlike most colonial churches, its chancel faces northeast. The church was abandoned after the Revolution, repaired and returned to service in 1826, and dedicated to St. John in 1828. The interior was rebuilt with wood panelling in 1888. It was listed for its fine brickwork, its rectilinear colonial form, its unusual orientation, and its vestry's challenge to Governor Nicholson's authority over the induction of ministers.","period_of_significance":"18th Century (specific date 1755)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial ecclesiastical architecture (rectilinear form)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good 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 02:51:56.791068-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/6838/41683879/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002149.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002149/094e1e21a1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002149/094e1e21a1-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Joel Bradshaw","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suffolk-Chuckatuck-StJohns-Church.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Joel Bradshaw</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suffolk-Chuckatuck-StJohns-Church.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683879","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Church_(Chuckatuck,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588629"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/suffolk/st-johns-church-73002149/"}