{"nrhp_refnum":"76002101","name":"Sappony Church","other_names":["Sapony Church","Sappony Episcopal Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Sappony Creek off VA 692","address_restricted":false,"city":"McKenny","county":"Dinwiddie County","state":"VA","lat":36.97087451500005,"lon":-77.63594050399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story rectangular frame church near McKenney in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, built in 1725-26 as a chapel of Bristol Parish, with a vestry room added early in the nineteenth century and remodelings in the mid-1800s and 1870.","why_significant":"The church is significant mainly for its association with Devereux Jarratt, its rector from 1763 until his death in 1801, a supporter of the American Revolution and a noted advocate of the Methodist movement within the Anglican/Episcopal church. His remains and those of his wife lie beneath the building. Much early fabric also survives despite later alterations.","narrative":"Sappony Church is a one-story frame building in rural Dinwiddie County, Virginia, three bays long, covered with beaded weatherboards and entered through its west gable end. It was built in 1725-26 as one of two chapels of Bristol Parish, and William Byrd II visited it twice on his travels. A vestry room was added early in the nineteenth century, and the building was remodeled in the mid-nineteenth century and again in 1870 after a balcony and plaster ceiling collapsed. Large nine-over-nine windows with much of their original glass survive. The church is best known for Devereux Jarratt, rector from 1763 until his death in 1801. He supported the American Revolution and encouraged the Methodist movement within the Anglican church. Francis Asbury conducted his funeral here, and in 1869 his remains were moved to the church from Amelia County. Headstones and an 1858 obelisk honoring Jarratt and his wife are set into the interior. A small Episcopal congregation still worships here.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; it continues to house a small but active Episcopal congregation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.782961-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/6804/41680415/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/76002101.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002101/e96925ef3d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002101/e96925ef3d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sw23","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sapony_Church.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sw23</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:Sapony_Church.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680415","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sappony_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713179"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/dinwiddie-county/sappony-church-76002101/"}