{"nrhp_refnum":"83001696","name":"New Lots Reformed Church and Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"630 New Lots Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.66478222500007,"lon":-73.88517512499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small rectangular wooden Gothic-style church and adjoining cemetery at 630 New Lots Avenue in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn, New York. The church was built in 1823-24 and the cemetery was established in 1841.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a fine example of rural church architecture and is architecturally unique in New York City as a wooden church of its period. Its hand-hewn, pegged timbers show fine craftsmanship, and its simple Gothic details reflect local building traditions. The cemetery holds the graves of many early Dutch settlers of the area.","narrative":"Built in 1823-24 by local farmers who felled timbers from their own land, this small wooden church at 630 New Lots Avenue in Brooklyn's Bushwick area sits on a rough stone foundation with board siding and a gabled front. Pointed-arch doors and windows, including a rare Palladian-Gothic center window, give a religious character to an otherwise plain vernacular building. Its hand-hewn timbers are notched, jointed and pegged, and a short square tower with a polygonal lantern rises from the roof ridge. The congregation belongs to the Reformed Church in America and has worshipped here continuously. The adjoining cemetery, established in 1841 when the older burial ground across the street needed to expand, contains tombstones bearing early Dutch family names such as Rapelye, Wyckoff, Vanderveer, Van Brunt and Ryerson. The church is considered architecturally unique among wooden churches of its period in New York City and a reminder of Brooklyn's early development.","period_of_significance":"1824, 1841 (cemetery)","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Gothic (vernacular rural church with Gothic details)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in religious use, with a continuous ministry since construction; condition given as fair, altered, on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.165786-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/83001696.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001696/79b1325ac3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001696/79b1325ac3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Lots_Community_Church_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Lots_Community_Church_jeh.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318453","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Lots_Reformed_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7009933"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/new-lots-reformed-church-and-cemetery-83001696/"}