{"nrhp_refnum":"73002214","name":"St. John's Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N of Sweet Hall on VA 30","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sweet Hall","county":"King William County","state":"VA","lat":37.61621419900007,"lon":-76.92118034499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. John's Church is a colonial brick Anglican (Episcopal) church in the Sweet Hall vicinity of King William County, Virginia, completed in 1734. It has a T-shaped plan, with a main body and a wing added later.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a fine example of the T-shaped form of Virginia's colonial churches, with quality brickwork and surviving colonial interior galleries. It is the only surviving colonial church in King William County that remains in Episcopal hands. It is also associated with Carter Braxton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who regularly worshipped there.","narrative":"Set in a clearing in a wooded area south of Route 30 in King William County, St. John's Church is a colonial brick church completed in 1734. Its T-shaped plan has a main body of about 50 by 30 feet and a wing added between 1755 and 1765. The walls use Flemish bond with glazed headers above the water table and English bond below, with rubbed and gauged brick around the windows and the pedimented west and north doorways. Inside are colonial galleries with turned balusters, supported by slender fluted Tuscan columns, and a large reredos that came from another church. The parish was formed in 1680, and the eloquent Henry Skyren drew large crowds in the 1700s. Carter Braxton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, attended services here. Used little after the Disestablishment, the building passed to the vestry of St. John's in West Point in 1913. An inter-denominational restoration association has since worked to preserve it, and it is the only surviving colonial church in the county still in Episcopal care.","period_of_significance":"18th Century (specific date 1734)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial T-shaped Virginia church","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, and undergoing renovation; restoration work has been carried out by the St. John's Restoration Association, advised by architect Milton Grigg.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.838276-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/6814/41681460/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002214.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002214/5d41478eef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002214/5d41478eef-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_St._John%27s_Church,_State_Route_30_vicinity,_West_Point_vicinity_(King_William_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_St._John%27s_Church,_State_Route_30_vicinity,_West_Point_vicinity_(King_William_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681460","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Church_(Sweet_Hall,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588636"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/king-william-county/st-johns-church-73002214/"}