{"nrhp_refnum":"84001997","name":"Emanuel United Church of Christ Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"SR 2060","address_restricted":false,"city":"Thomasville","county":"Davidson County","state":"NC","lat":35.842901450000056,"lon":-80.11525314999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A churchyard cemetery of about 2 acres on the north side of SR 2060 near Thomasville, Davidson County, North Carolina, belonging to Emanuel United Church of Christ. It holds roughly 500 gravestones, with the earliest dating from 1808 to 1873.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the cemetery holds a unique collection of folk gravestones carved by local stonecutters in the late 18th and first half of the 19th century. The decorated soapstone markers with resurrection and eternity symbols are described as the height of folk art among the Anglo-German farming community of north Davidson County. The site also has stones attributed to John Rickard and to the \"Modern Master,\" the last folk stonecutter of consequence in the county.","narrative":"Emanuel Cemetery, beside Emanuel United Church of Christ near Thomasville, covers about 2 acres and holds roughly 500 gravestones. About 100 of them cluster behind the church around a group of old cedar trees. These are locally made and are the earliest markers, dating from 1808 to 1873. The church land was deeded in 1813 and the first church built in 1814, originally as a union church that became Reformed by 1925. The congregation was far from the county's major gravestone workshops, so no single school of carving dominates. Three markers are attributed to David Sowers and three to John Rickard, one of them for a Reichard family member, which suggests this may have been Rickard's home church. Another group is credited to the \"Modern Master,\" described as the last folk stonecutter of consequence in the county. The decorated soapstone stones, with sunbursts, tympanums and religious symbols, led to the listing as an example of local folk art.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Stonecutters unknown; some markers attributed to David Sowers, John Rickard and the \"Modern Master\"","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Cemetery in fair condition, on its original site, owned by the church and open to the public without restriction.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:51.356257-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/7176/47717655/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/84001997.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001997/35859f6f4a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001997/35859f6f4a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emanuel_UCC_Cemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emanuel_UCC_Cemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717655","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_United_Church_of_Christ_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5369158"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/davidson-county/emanuel-united-church-of-christ-cemetery-84001997/"}