{"nrhp_refnum":"85001414","name":"Bethlehem Church","other_names":["Bethlehem United Church of Christ"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"VA 798","address_restricted":false,"city":"Broadway","county":"Rockingham County","state":"VA","lat":38.577675948000035,"lon":-78.73230746299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-06-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small one-story limestone church at the junction of U.S. 11 and Route 798 near Broadway, Rockingham County, Virginia, built in 1844-45 by local stonemason Jeremiah Clemens.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest stone church in Rockingham County. It replaced a Quaker meetinghouse known to have stood in 1738 and reflects the plain, conservative form of mid-19th-century Valley country churches. Its limestone construction shows the persistence of a local masonry tradition. The resubmitted form lists architecture as an area of significance.","narrative":"Bethlehem Church is a small, gable-roofed limestone building beside the old Valley Turnpike near Broadway, in Rockingham County, Virginia. Local stonemason Jeremiah Clemens built it in 1844-45 to replace an 18th-century Quaker meetinghouse at Smith Creek that had been crumbling with age. The nomination describes it as the oldest stone church in the county. Its rectangular form, coursed and squared limestone walls and lack of ornament reflect the conservative character of rural Valley churches and a strong local masonry tradition. During the Civil War the church was shelled and used as a hospital, and soldiers' inscriptions remain in the attic. Its roof and ceiling were destroyed and the present roof dates from 1914. Stained-glass windows were added in the 20th century. A larger neo-Gothic church was built next door in the early 1950s, and the congregation chose to preserve the old building and hopes to restore it for church functions.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Jeremiah Clemens","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The form lists the property as unoccupied and in fair condition. A larger church was built beside it, and the congregation decided to preserve the old building and hopes to restore it for church functions.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.382808-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/75/6834/41683475/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/85001414.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001414/f5f1fa05ae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001414/f5f1fa05ae-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Strawser","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bethlehem_Church_VA_798_Rockingham_County.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Strawser</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:Bethlehem_Church_VA_798_Rockingham_County.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683475","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15198743"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/rockingham-county/bethlehem-church-85001414/"}