{"nrhp_refnum":"82003528","name":"Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"205 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilkesboro","county":"Wilkes County","state":"NC","lat":36.14837047800006,"lon":-81.14964930999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Greek Revival church building on East Main Street in Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, North Carolina, with a tetrastyle Doric portico. It was built in 1849-1850 and is set back on its lot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is the oldest congregation of the Presbyterian denomination in twenty-one western North Carolina counties, and that it played a role in spreading the denomination in that part of the state. It is also presented as an excellent example of the mid-nineteenth-century Greek Revival temple form and as one of the few surviving pre-Civil War buildings in Wilkesboro.","narrative":"Built in 1849-1850 by a builder named Dameron, the brick Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church is a Greek Revival temple-form building with a tetrastyle Doric portico and smooth brick walls laid in common bond. It stands set back from East Main Street in Wilkesboro, Wilkes County. The congregation was organized on June 17, 1837, with six charter members, and the church is regarded as the oldest congregation of its denomination in twenty-one western North Carolina counties. Its building is one of the few remaining from the pre-Civil War development of the county seat, and its simple, well-preserved form is cited as an embodiment of the mid-century Greek Revival style. A bell inscribed as molded in Philadelphia in 1849 was donated by General James B. Gordon, who also had a spire added before his death in 1864. Services ceased for years in the twentieth century, and the building deteriorated before repairs after mid-century restored its use.","period_of_significance":"1849-1850","architect_builder":"Dameron (builder)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Well-maintained by an active, though small, congregation after mid-century repairs; earlier in the twentieth century services ceased and the building deteriorated.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:40.956478-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/7187/47718715/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/82003528.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003528/4820524c13-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003528/4820524c13-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"G Keith Hall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilkesboro_Presbyterian_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">G Keith Hall</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:Wilkesboro_Presbyterian_Church.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"09000290","name":"Downtown Wilkesboro Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/downtown-wilkesboro-historic-district-09000290/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718715","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkesboro_Presbyterian_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14708277"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/wilkes-county/wilkesboro-presbyterian-church-82003528/"}