{"nrhp_refnum":"86000385","name":"Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"724 N. Main","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jackson","county":"Amador County","state":"CA","lat":38.355902564000075,"lon":-120.77635749299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-03-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["European","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small one-story painted brick Serbian Orthodox church with a bell tower and adjoining parish cemetery at 724 North Main Street, Jackson, Amador County, California. Parish members built it in 1894 under builder Mr. Thompson.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is significant as the first Serbian Orthodox church in America. It has also been the continuing focus of Serbian culture and unity in the Jackson area since the 1890s. Its design carries traditional references to small churches of Yugoslavia, brought by immigrant Serbian gold miners and their families.","narrative":"Perched on the upper end of a long slope in the Sierra foothills, St. Sava's is a small, simple brick church in the Mother Lode town of Jackson. Parish members built it in 1894 under builder Mr. Thompson, and it was consecrated on December 4 of that year. The one-story building has buttressed brick walls, arched windows, a square bell tower, a semicircular apse on the east and a narthex on the west. Inside are a nave, a chancel and an iconostasis. A parish cemetery, begun in 1887, surrounds it on three sides. The church is regarded as the first Serbian Orthodox church in America. It was organized by Serbian gold miners and their families, and it has served as a center of Serbian religious, social and cultural life ever since. Its design reflects small churches of Serbia and neighboring lands, though an onion-shaped cupola was replaced in 1930 and a vestibule was added. The original brass bell, cast in 1894, is still in use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; builder Mr. Thompson and parish members","architectural_style":"Eastern Orthodox influenced design (Serbian church tradition)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in continuous use as a church since 1894; condition of the fabric is described as good, with relatively high integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.695387-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86000385.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000385/7f2b33a3d4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000385/7f2b33a3d4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bobak Ha'Eri","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0724-CA-Jackson-StSavaSerbianOrthodox.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobak Ha'Eri</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0724-CA-Jackson-StSavaSerbianOrthodox.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858412","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sava_Serbian_Orthodox_Church_(Jackson,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7402153"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/amador-county/saint-sava-serbian-orthodox-church-86000385/"}