{"nrhp_refnum":"82001301","name":"Church of the Transfiguration","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Henderson and Charles Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Saluda","county":"Polk County","state":"NC","lat":35.236813434000055,"lon":-82.34637096299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small white frame Episcopal chapel in Carpenter Gothic style at Henderson and Charles streets in Saluda, Polk County, North Carolina, built in 1889 and consecrated in 1891. It was designed and largely built by Reverend John DeWitt McCullough.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church reflects western North Carolina's nineteenth-century role as a summer retreat for wealthier, largely Episcopalian, South Carolinians. It is also a well-crafted example of Carpenter Gothic church architecture, described as rare for western North Carolina. The interior retains original furnishings carved by McCullough.","narrative":"Perched on a hill above Saluda's business section, this white frame Episcopal chapel was built in 1889 and consecrated in 1891. Its board-and-batten walls, steep gabled roof, bargeboards with sawtooth trim, pointed-arch stained glass windows and two-tiered belltower are hallmarks of the Carpenter Gothic style, in which Gothic motifs are executed in wood. The church was created for Episcopalian families, many from South Carolina, who summered in the Blue Ridge foothills after the railroad arrived in 1878. Reverend John DeWitt McCullough, longtime rector in Spartanburg, designed the building, raised most of the money and helped build it with his sons, townspeople and Sewanee seminary students. He also carved the altar. Inside, exposed trusses, vertical bead board and original oak pews survive. A small vestry added in 1968 imitates the original design. The chapel is regarded as a rare western North Carolina example of Carpenter Gothic church architecture and a reminder of the area's summer-resort past.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Reverend John DeWitt McCullough","architectural_style":"Carpenter Gothic","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; the form says the building is almost entirely intact, with a 1968 vestry addition that blends with the original. It has 40 year-round communicants.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.473397-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/7218/47721866/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/82001301.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001301/efb4df9fff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001301/efb4df9fff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bigskybill","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Church_of_the_Transfiguration.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bigskybill</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:Church_of_the_Transfiguration.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721866","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Transfiguration_(Saluda,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5118056"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/polk-county/church-of-the-transfiguration-82001301/"}